TRAFFIC CONGESTION:

THE BANE OF A BUS RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEM IN ACCRA, GHANA?

Agyemang, Ernest

Master of Philosophy Thesis in Development Studies (specializing in Geography)

Department of Geography

Trondheim, May 2009

i

DECLARATION

With the exception of references used, for which due acknowledgement has been made, I,

Agyemang Ernest, do hereby declare that this dissertation is an end product of my own

research under the supervision of Associate Professor Jan Ketil Rod of the Department of

Geography of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.

....................................................................

Agyemang, Ernest.

....................................................................

Jan Ketil Rød (Assoc. Prof.)

ii

DEDICATION

To the Lady whose love beautifies my World and inspires me to greater heights, Miss Abigail

Oduro-Kwarteng; the world’s greatest mum, Mary Abora Barfi and my sweet sister Ernestina

Nyanta, I dedicate this work.

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

“Give thanks to the Lord, for HE is good. His love endures forever” (Psalm 136:1). But for

your protection, love and care during my entire study period, this thesis would never have

seen the light of day. Thank you, Jesus.

Secondly, I am grateful to Associate Professor Jan Ketil Rød, who broadened my

knowledge in GIS and made quality time to supervise this work. I also wish to express thanks

to the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund for financially supporting my studies here at

NTNU. You made the 15th of each month such a delight! Tusen takk for ditt hjelp!

To Professors Samuel Tetteh-Addo, Alex Boakye Asiedu, Samuel Agyei-Mensah and my

former teaching assistant Dr. Joseph Kofi Teye, all of the Geography Department of the

University of Ghana, I am so grateful for the solid foundation you laid. Indeed, a teacher can

never tell the extent to which his influence reaches!

Again, to all my respondents, especially Mr. Henk Visschers, MD of the Metro Mass

Transit Limited, I am extremely thankful for your help. Messrs Samuel Mawutor, Collins

Sarkodie, Owuraku Kusi Ampofo, Phillip Kassah (Chief Internal Auditor, Ministry of

Transportation); Mrs. Jennifer Asiedu-Dartey (of CERSGIS, Legon) and the Tettey family at

Adenta, Accra who assisted in the geospatial and traffic congestion data collection and

editing, God bless you all. I am grateful also to Kyrre Svarva, the senior adviser at the IT

section of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Technology Management, NTNU for

meticulously processing the field data for this thesis.

I am also grateful to my entire colleague Mphil. students, especially Mari ‘Ama

Buroni’ H. Størvold for your constructive criticisms at the progress meetings which have led

to this final thesis. To all the Ghanaian students at Moholt Studentby who in diverse ways

provided me with ‘a home-away-from-home’ experience, especially Suzanne B. Arthur, Kofi

Amo, Kofi Adutwum and Cephas Delalorm, I am grateful. Nyame nhyira mo nyinaa!!

To my Norwegian family in Trondheim Melvin and Laila Jakobsen, Roger and Tine

Flåløkken, Christofer Kjølner, Maya and the entire members of the Adventkirken, may God

recompense you bountifully for all the joy, inspiration and love that you showered on me and

which has enabled this study too see the light of the day. Takk for familie!!

iv

ABSTRACT

The role of transportation to urban dwellers cannot be overemphasised. Transportation

enables employment, education, health services and leisure. Indeed, it ensures proper “urban

insertion” (Wane, 2001, p.1). However, owing to high levels of motorization, in recent times,

inadequate traffic management strategies, as well as inadequate land use and transportation

planning, traffic congestion is not uncommon in cities all over the world. The economic,

social, environmental and safety costs of traffic congestion are numerous and have gained

much attention in the existing literature. This study proceeds with the aim of identifying the

causes and the extent to which traffic congestion in the Ghanaian capital city of Accra,

conspired with other factors to collapse a pilot Bus Rapid Transit System which was

introduced to curb traffic congestion in the city once and for all.

With the use of the triangulation approach, research tools belonging to both the

quantitative and qualitative methods of doing research, such the GIS-based techniques; five

key informant in-depth interviews; three semi-structured interviews; a focus group discussion

and participatory observation, in addition to using the Time-Geographic framework, the

Structuration and General Systems theories respectively as interpretative guides, this study

made interesting findings.

Improper land use practises, poor siting of terminals and transit points regardless of

planning and architectural principles, activities of the informal economy and the woefully

inadequate transport infrastructure were identified as the factors that cause traffic congestion

on the Kimbu-Adenta highway on which the pilot BRTS operated. While traffic congestion

made it impossible to operate scheduled bus services and increased the operational costs of

the pilot project, other factors such as unhealthy competition among transport operators in

Accra, the absence of a supporting legislative instrument, internal human lapses and the lack

of public education were also identified as having contributed to the demise of the pilot

BRTS.

Proposals to reduce traffic congestion such as improving transport infrastructure,

congestion pricing, enhancing accidents management mechanisms and the implementation of

the comprehensive Urban Transport Project (UTP) would not only mitigate traffic congestion

but will improve the overall performance of public transportation provision in the city and

ensure the success of a future BRTS in Ghana.

v

CONTENTS

Page

DECLARATION ........................................................................................................................ i

DEDICATION ........................................................................................................................... ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ....................................................................................................... iii

ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................... v

LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................. ix

LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... x

LIST OF PLATES ................................................................................................................... xii

LIST OF APPENDICES ........................................................................................................ xiii

LIST OF ACRONYMS ......................................................................................................... xiii

CHAPTER ONE: GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY ................................ 1

1.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1

1.2. Statement of Research Problem ...................................................................................... 4

1.3. Statement of Research Objectives .................................................................................. 6

1.4. Statement of Research Questions.................................................................................... 6

1.5. Organisation of Chapters ................................................................................................ 6

CHAPTER TWO: THEORY AND LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................... 8

2.1. Introduction and Definition of Theory ................................................................................ 8

2.2. Theory: The Philosophical Debate in Geography ............................................................... 8

2.3. Concepts and Theories Employed in this Study ............................................................... 10

2.3.1. Time-Geographic Framework ........................................................................................ 10

2.3.2. Structuration Theory ...................................................................................................... 15

vi

2.3.3. General Systems Theory ................................................................................................ 17

2.4. Literature Review.............................................................................................................. 22

2.4. 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 22

2.4. 2. Definition and Types of Traffic Congestion ................................................................. 22

2.4. 3. Why Does Traffic Congestion Occur? .......................................................................... 23

2.4. 4. Procedures Involved in Measurement of Traffic Congestion ....................................... 24

2.4. 5. The Geography and Characteristics of BRTS ............................................................... 25

2.4. 6. Arguments For and Against BRTS ............................................................................... 28

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .................................................... 29

3.1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 29

3.2. Sources of Primary Data ................................................................................................... 29

3.3. Quantitative Versus Qualitative Sources of Data Generation ........................................... 30

3.4. Research Tools Employed in Primary Data Generation ................................................... 33

3.4.1. GIS-based Techniques ................................................................................................... 33

3.4.2. Interviews with Key Informants and a Discussion ........................................................ 34

3.4.3. Participant Observation .................................................................................................. 36

3.5. Secondary Sources of Data ............................................................................................... 37

3.6. Challenges Faced in this Study ......................................................................................... 37

3.7. Validity, Reliability and Limitations of this Study ........................................................... 39

3.8. Techniques for Data Analysis and Presentations of Findings .......................................... 41

CHAPTER FOUR: THE STUDY AREA ............................................................................ 42

4.1. Location and Size .............................................................................................................. 42

4.2. Topography and Climate ................................................................................................... 45

4.3. Demographic characteristics of the Study Area ................................................................ 46

4.3.1. Population size and Growth ........................................................................................... 47

vii

4.3.2. Population Density ......................................................................................................... 48

4.3.3. Age and Sex Structure ................................................................................................... 48

CHAPTER FIVE: PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SERVICES AND TRAFFIC

CONGESTION IN ACCRA ................................................................................................. 50

5.1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 50

5.2. The Transport Sector ......................................................................................................... 50

5.3. The Road Network of Accra ............................................................................................. 51

5.4. Evolution of Accra’s Present Urban Transport System .................................................... 52

5.5. Traffic Congestion in Accra.............................................................................................. 56

5.5.1. Causes of Traffic Congestion in Accra .......................................................................... 56

CHAPTER SIX: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS ............................................................ 61

6.1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 61

6.2.1. The Metro Mass Transit: Brief History and Ownership ................................................ 61

6.2.2. The Metro Mass Transit: Services Provided .................................................................. 62

6.3. BRTS in Ghana: Characteristics ....................................................................................... 63

6.4. Traffic Congestion on the Kimbu-Adenta Highway ......................................................... 66

6.4.1 Traffic Congestion by Time of the Day .......................................................................... 67

6.4.2 Traffic Congestion by Day of Week ............................................................................... 72

6.4.3. Reasons for the Observed Traffic Congestion Pattern ................................................... 74

6.5. Factors that collapsed the Pilot BRTS in Accra ................................................................ 83

6.5.1. Traffic Congestion ......................................................................................................... 83

6.5.2. Unhealthy Competition from Other Commercial Drivers ............................................. 84

6.5.3. Lack of Supporting Legislative Instruments .................................................................. 87

6.5.4. Bad Attitudes of Driving Crew and Maladministration of the Service ......................... 88

6.5.5 Inadequate Publicity about the Service ........................................................................... 89

viii

CHAPTER SEVEN: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..... 91

7.1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 91

7.2. Summary and Conclusion ................................................................................................. 91

7.2.1. What are the factors that culminate in the occurrence of traffic congestion on the BRTS

corridor? .................................................................................................................................. 92

7.2.2. To what extent did traffic congestion affect the operations of the pilot BRTS? ............ 93

7.2.3. Are there other factors that jointly contributed to the collapse of the pilot BRTS project

in Accra? .................................................................................................................................. 93

7.3. Recommendations ............................................................................................................. 95

7.3.1 Traffic Congestion .......................................................................................................... 95

7.3.2 “A Successful BRTS in Ghana? Of course! And why not?” .......................................... 99

7.4. Areas for Further Research ............................................................................................. 102

ix

LIST OF FIGURES

Page

Figure 2.1 The space-time path................................................................................................13

Figure 2.2 The space-time prism..............................................................................................13

Figure 2.3. The Urban Transport System.................................................................................21

Figure 4.1 A Map of the Greater Accra Region Showing the Study Area..............................46

Figure 4.2 Average Weather Conditions in Accra..................................................................48

Figure 5.1 Percentages of Road Space Usage per Transport Mode in Accra..........................60

Figure 5. 2 Percentages of Passengers Carried per Transport Mode in Accra.........................60

Figure 6.1 AM Peak Thematic Map.........................................................................................69

Figure 6.2 Off Peak Thematic Map..........................................................................................71

Figure 6.3 PM Peak Thematic Map.........................................................................................72

Figure 6.4 Traffic Congestion by Day of the Week.................................................................73

x

LIST OF TABLES

Page

Table 4.1 Demographic Characteristics of Accra....................................................................49

Table 4.2. Comparative Characteristics of the Greater Accra Region....................................50

Table 5.1. GRTCC Membership.............................................................................................56

Table 6.1 Fleet Size and Passenger Capacity of MMT Buses................................................63

xi

LIST OF PLATES

Page

Plate 5.1 Transport terminal on road shoulder........................................................................61

Plate 5.2 Commerce compete for space with vehicles............................................................61

Plate 5.3 Blocking of the Walkway with Adverts..................................................................61

Plate 5.4. Driving on shoulder of road further compounds traffic congestion.......................61

Plate 6.1. A passenger buying a bus ticket at an MMT ticket booth.....................................66

Plate 6.2 Land Use practises at the Zongo Junction..............................................................78

Plate 6.3 An informal economy along the Kimbu-Adenta Highway....................................80

Plate 6.4 Road Infrastructure on the Kimbu-Adenta Highway.............................................82

xii

LIST OF APPENDICES

Page

Appendix 1 Traffic Congestion Registration Form................................................................111

Appendix 2 Interview Guide for Key Informants (Management of the MMT)..................112-3

Appendix 3 Interview Guide for MMT Drivers and Passengers............................................114

Appendix 4 Interview Guide for Key Informants (Public transport

policy makers and experts).................................................................115

Appendix 5 Congestion Scorecard on the Kimbu-Adenta Highway....................................116

Appendix 6 Design of the BRTS Terminals..........................................................................117

xiii

LIST OF ACRONYMS

AMA........................................... Accra Metropolitan Area

AVI..............................................Automatic Vehicle Identification

AVL.............................................Automatic Vehicle Location

BRTS........................................... Bus Rapid Transit System

CBD............................................ Central Business District

CERSGIS................................Center for Remote Sensing & Geographic Information Services

CES..............................................City Express Service

DVLA......................................... Driver Vehicle and Licensing Authority

ESRI............................................ Environmental Systems Research Institute

ERP..............................................Economic Recovery Programme

GDA........................................... Ga District Area

GhIE........................................... Ghana Institution of Engineers

GIS.............................................. Geographic Information Systems

GPS..............................................Global Positioning System

GSS..............................................Ghana Statistical Service

GTTC...........................................Government Technical Training Centre

HCM............................................Highway Capacity Manual (HCM)

HOV............................................High Occupancy Vehicles

IEA.............................................. International Energy Agency

ITS............................................... Intelligent Transportation Systems

LDV.............................................Light-Duty Vehicles

MD...............................................Managing Director

MMT............................................Metro Mass Transit Limited

NRSC..........................................National Road Safety Commission

OSA............................................Omnibus Services Authority

KTC............................................ Koforidua Training Center

STC............................................. State Transport Corporation

SPSS........................................... Statistical Package for the Social Scientist

xiv

TMA...........................................Tema Municipal Area

ROW..........................................Right of Way

UTP............................................Urban Transport Project

1

CHAPTER ONE: GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY

1.1. Introduction

The role of transportation in human life cannot be overemphasised. According to Intikhab et

al. (2008), efficient transportation system plays an important role in catering to the daily

necessities in the lives of the citizens. These include access to amenities and services that are

central to the lives of all individuals, like employment, education, health services and leisure.

At the individual level, Wane (2001, p.1) also points out that ‘transportation is a crucial

vector for urban insertion since it gives access to economic activity, facilitates family life and

helps in spinning social networks. It links the different spaces of the city on which an

individual or a family has to implement his or its tri-dimensional strategy of life (i.e. family,

work, residence). So, urban mobility is at the heart of the challenges faced by any city-

dweller’.

Consequently, cities in the world have witnessed tremendous motorisation during the

recent century, especially since 1988 global car population exceeded 400 million (Walsh,

1990). The reason for this phenomenon, according to Dimitriou (1991) is that in both the

Developed and Third World countries, few activities are more poorly managed than urban

transport. As such, the failure of public transport to meet the needs of travellers has

intensified the demand for private cars. A leading think tank in the UK, The Optimum

Population Trust reported that in the year 2000, about one in nine of the world's 6.1 billion

people owned a car or van. For the same year, the Mobility 2030 report, issued by the World

Business Council for Sustainable Development (2004), suggests that there were nearly 700

million light-duty vehicles (LDVs) i.e. automobiles, light trucks, and derivatives such as sport

utility vehicles and minivans in cities of the world. The LDV numbers, according to the

report, are said to be growing at 2 % annually until it reaches about 1.3 billion by 2030 and to

just over 2 billion by 2050. Interestingly, it is said that nearly all of these increases will be in

cities of the Developing World due to expanding economic growth (ibid).

Owing to this high level of motorization, combined with inadequate traffic

management strategies, an aging and ill maintained vehicle stock, as well as inadequate land

use and transportation planning, especially in the Developing Economies, modern-day cities

have witnessed very significant proportion of traffic congestion. Described as a phenomenon

of increased disruption of traffic movement on an element of the transport system, traffic

2

congestion is most visible when the level of demand for movement approaches or exceeds the

present capacity of the element (Taylor, 1999). As Taylor et al. (2000) argue, traffic

congestion presents a common, if not inevitable, facet of traffic activity in a region,

particularly in urban areas.

This phenomenon has resulted in, among other things, longer travel times, additional

fuel consumption, high pollution levels, vehicle wear and tear, disutility from crowding; and

(in the longer run) the costs of relocating jobs and residences and a deteriorating urban

environment that has a direct bearing on sustainable development (Intikhab et al., 2008;

Palma & Lindsey, 2002).

The consequences of congestion in both the Advanced and Developing Economies are

of special concern in urban policy making and transport planning (Taylor et al., 2000). On the

economic front, it is believed that in the US alone, traffic congestion resulted in a loss of $72

billion to some sixty-eight large urban areas in 1997 (Schrank & Lomax, 1999). This figure

includes time delay valued at $12 per hour (88 % of the total) and extra fuel consumption. In

another study conducted by the Texas Transportation Institute (2004), it came to light that

congestion had caused the US economy 3.7 billion hours of travel delay and 8.7 billion litres

of wasted fuel. These figures represent an increase of 79 million hours and 262 million litres

from 2002 to a total cost of more than $63 billion for the year 2003. In the UK, the

Commission for Integrated Transport notes that while drivers in Central London spend up to

about 50 % of their time crawling in jammed traffic, businesses in the city are also losing

about £2 million a week.1

For the rest of Western Europe, the European Commission in 1995 reported the costs

of traffic congestion to be about two percent of Gross Domestic Product (Prud'homme, 1997)

which is more than double the equivalent US figure quoted above. Although traffic

congestion is a global challenge, the economic impact is most disturbing when one considers

the situation in the developing countries.

Willoughby (2000; cited in Carisma & Lowder, 2008)2 indicates that estimated costs

of congestion in terms of Gross Domestic Product are particularly high in the Asian cities of

Bangkok, Manila and in the Republic of Korea (1.0 to 6.0 %, 4.0 %, and 4.4 % respectively).

1 http://www.cfit.gov.uk/ruc/factsheets/london/index.htm. Accessed on 05.12.2008.

2 http://greenconsumerism.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/the-cost-of-traffic-congestion3.pdf Accessed on

10.01.2009

3

This may be due to level of development (particularly as in the case of Bangkok and Manila)

and density of population (as in the case of Bangkok, Manila and Republic of Korea). Thus,

congestion costs are inversely related to the level of development and directly related to

population density (ibid). However, comparatively large cities like Mexico City, Sao Paulo,

Santiago and Dakar recorded low congestion costs figures (i.e. 2.6 %; 2.4 %; 1.4 % and 3.4

% of GDP respectively). These figures appear worrisome given the fact that these losses

could have been used for development and improvement of the general living conditions of

the citizenry. Aside the economic costs, traffic congestion can have profound adverse impacts

on the social (e.g. people unable to physically contact relations on time), environmental (e.g.

excessive emission of carbon dioxide to cause global warming) and safety concerns.

Given the enormity of the problem, policy makers all over the world have

implemented several measures to cut down or minimise the impacts of traffic congestion by

properly maintaining the current road and bridge system; constructing new roads, bridges,

and non-highway infrastructure; encouraging an appropriate balance between different

modes, especially by developing alternatives such as public transportation, and finally,

employing transportation systems management and operations strategies to maximize the

capacity of the infrastructure already in place (Paniati, 2004). Cities such as Curitiba (Brazil),

Lagos (Nigeria), Ottawa (Canada), Los Angeles, and Honolulu (the United States), just to

mention but a few, have developed what is termed as Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), as

one remedy to solving the problem of traffic congestion.

It is interesting to note that even though traffic congestion is such a critical problem in

some major urban areas of the world, Palma & Lindsey (2002) are of the opinion that it is not

a recent phenomenon at all. It is said that the ‘problems of traffic congestion in urban areas

were prevalent during the 18th and 19th centuries and also during the heyday of the Roman

Empire’ (Stopher & Meyburg, 1975, cited in Ogunjumo & Agbemi (1991, p.391). Indeed,

chariot riding was banned in Rome during peak hours because of traffic jams (Gibbs 1997).

However, the current prevalence of congestion in surface travel has been exacerbated by

sheer volume of the automobile and other motorized forms of transportation on the roads.

The situation is further aggravated by the human population explosion, especially at the urban

centres.

Ghana, like most countries in the Third World, is no exception to the above described

phenomenon. Indeed, with its high growth rate and the natural desire among the population to

have vehicles of their own, Kwakye and Fouracre (1998, p.1) notes with concern that ‘the

4

high urban growth rate in the country is outpacing the provision of services... thereby making

it difficult to plan and programme transport in harmony with urban development’.

1.2. Statement of Research Problem

Located at latitude 5°33' North and longitude 0°13' West, Accra is Ghana’s largest

administrative and economic centre. As at 2005, a little fewer than 2 million people lived in

this urban conurbation and it is estimated that the figure would have risen to 4 million by

2020 (GSS, 2002; Yankson & Grant, 2003). Consequently, one of the key challenges to

government and stakeholders is to provide sustainable public transport to the teeming

population.

Until the recent last two decades of the twentieth century, Accra had a well planned

and managed public transport system that was owned by the state. This public transport

system operated using big and comfortable buses which were not only safe and regular, but

were reliable as well. However, this state-run urban transport system collapsed due to poor

performance of the economy and associated mismanagement (Addo, 2002). This provided the

impetus for the growth and development of the famous trotro system3 which has become the

major public transport provider in Accra and beyond. Besides this system, a greater number

of residents in the city own and use private cars for their daily transportation needs.

Not only are the vehicle stock used under the trotro system old and poorly

maintained, but they also account for the acute traffic congestion experienced in the city.

Therefore, Fouracre et al. (1994) propose a shift to the use of larger vehicles such as buses in

order to overcome traffic congestion. Again, it is said that a system of bus service which is

convenient, accessible, comfortable, reliable and operating within acceptable levels of noise,

vibration and pollution would be such welcoming news to majority of people (Guohua et al.,

2007).

Following from the above and against the backdrop of Ghana’s desire to achieve a

middle-income status by the year 2020, the nation has sought to ‘establish an efficiently and

modally complementary and integrated transport network for the movement of people and

goods at least cost throughout the country’ (Kwakye & Fouracre, 1998, p.2). In line with this

agenda, the Metro Mass Transit system was introduced in October 2003 with a vision ‘to

3 See Chapter 5. TRANSPORT AND CONGESTION IN ACCRA

5

provide an efficient urban mass transport system in Ghana through the use of buses’. The

Metro Mass Transit Limited was tasked with the operation of this bus service.4

The company introduced what was referred to as the Bus Rapid Transit System

(BRTS)5 on a pilot basis in Accra, in September, 2005, to mitigate the traffic congestion

phenomenon in the city. Following an overwhelming success that was chalked by the pilot

project in the initial phase of its implementation, as seen by the massive public ridership, one

would have thought that the operator of the scheme – the Metro Mass Transit Limited –

would now be basking in the glory of being the pacesetter in implementing a BRTS in the

whole country. However, in just a little over two years of its operation, the company reverted

back to the provision of ‘regular’ bus service to the travelling public of Accra. What this

simply means is that their buses can now hawk for prospective passengers, just like the

private commercial drivers do, besides those who queue at their various designated bus stops.

A lot of researches have been conducted into the phenomenon of urban transportation

across the globe and especially in cities of the developing economies. Most of the research is

about travel behaviour (Dissanayake & Morikawa, 2008); pollution (Atash, 2007); regulation

and management (Sohail et al., 2004); motorization policies (Willoughby, 2001) and

congestion (Daganzo & Cassidy, 2008).

Few authors have shown interest in urban transportation issues in Ghana. These

authors have researched on issues such as injuries or traffic accidents (Mock et al., 1999;

Jørgensen & Abane (1999) and modal choice (Abane, 1993). Aside these notable ones, not

much has been written on the issue of transportation in the urban setting, especially as it

relates to the impacts of traffic congestion on public transport provision.

Therefore, this study aims to delve into the problem of traffic congestion in Accra,

and how it contributed to the collapse of the pilot BRTS. This will go a long way to provide

the requisite feedback that could influence transportation practitioners, policy makers,

transportation geographers and planners in general, to put in practical measures to address the

challenge. This will ensure a general improvement in the transport sector which will have

several positive impacts on the residents of Accra.

Coupled with the above, this research perfectly fit into the comprehensive package of

measures known as the Urban Transport Project (UTP) in Ghana which aims at enhancing the

efficiency and affordability of the urban transport sector, bearing in mind that the overall aim

4 http://metromass.com/pub_trans_gh.htm. Retrieved on 20.12.2007 5 See 6.4. BRTS in Ghana: Characteristics

6

of its development is to contribute to the improvement in the quality of life of the community

(Kwakye & Fouracre, 1998).

1.3. Statement of Research Objectives

The erstwhile pilot Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) on the Kimbu-Adenta Highway will

form the main theme for this research. Specifically, the study aims to:

1. identify the causes of traffic congestion on the Kimbu-Adenta corridor;

2. identify the extent to which traffic congestion adversely affected the pilot BRTS;

3. identify other potential causes for the demise of the pilot BRTS.

1.4. Statement of Research Questions

Emanating directly from the above stated objectives, the following research-worthy questions

are asked:

1. what are the factors that culminate in the occurrence of traffic congestion on the

former pilot BRTS corridor?

2. to what extent did traffic congestion affect the operations of the pilot BRTS?

3. are there other factors that jointly contributed to the collapse of the pilot BRTS project

in Accra?

1.5. Organisation of Chapters

This study has been organised into seven chapters. The first chapter proceeds with a general

introduction which is meant to serve as the foundation stone upon which to build the entire

thesis. Readers are then introduced to the main research problem and objectives to be

addressed, as well as research questions for which answers are sought for in the subsequent

chapters. Chapter two presents the theoretical underpinning on which this study positions

itself, in addition to a review of relevant and current literature on the subject under

discussion.

7

The main theme for chapter three is a discussion of the methodology employed in this

research. Sub-themes such as data sources, research tools used, challenges faced, reliability

and limitation issues, as well as how the data is analysed and presented are thoroughly

discussed. In chapter four, readers are introduced to the various characteristics of the study

area which directly or jointly affect the chosen topic and which will help answer the research

questions posed.

With a general discussion on the nature of public transportation services and the

severe traffic congestion phenomenon in Accra, chapter five serves as the forerunner for

chapter six, which discusses in-depth, the results and findings from the research field vis-à-

vis the theories, reviewed literature as well as the stated objectives and questions in this

study.

Chapter seven draws the curtain on the study with a summary of the various findings,

and the associated policy implications as well as strategic recommendations which when

implemented, will go a long way to improve the overall performance of public transport

provision in Ghana.

The preceding chapter is a discussion of the theories employed in this study and a

literature review.

8

CHAPTER TWO: THEORY AND LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Introduction and Definition of Theory

Theory may be defined ‘as a system of interconnected abstractions or ideas that condenses

and organizes knowledge about the social world’ (Mikkelsen, 2005, p. 157). It is used in

explanation (Johnston et al., 2000) and helps us to think through research (Pryke et al., 2003).

Therefore, it is argued that ‘without theory, there is nothing to research’ (Kitchin & Tate,

2000, p.32; Silverman, 1993).

There is no one unified theory that is applied by all social and physical scientists to

explain the world. Instead, there are myriad explanatory frameworks that invoke different

theoretical paradigms and approaches, some of which are more dominant at different points

in time and space (Del Casino, 2006, p. 484).

In most instances, theories are derived from what is called metatheories. Metatheories

are ‘constituted by epistemological assumptions (how we know the world) and ontological

assumptions (how the world is structured to produce knowledge)’. Is it also said that

‘ontology and epistemology, taken in conjunction, frame our theories about how the world

might work and how best to study that world’ (ibid, p. 485).

2.2. Theory: The Philosophical Debate in Geography

The greater majority of the late 20th and early 21st century geographic inquiries have been

informed by four major metatheoretical paradigms. These, according to Del Casino (2006)

are: spatial science, humanism, critical realism and poststructuralism.

These schools of thought within the discipline of geography have advanced strong

arguments as to which approach to theory is best for understanding the complex human-

environment relationships in both space and time. Their respective characteristics and

arguments, as documented by Del Casino (2006), are presented and discussed.

Spatial science historically is based in the philosophical tradition of logical

positivism. Epistemologically, positivism favours objectivity; ontologically, it favours order.

Positivism operates within the assumption that through the generation of hypotheses, and the

empirically testing of those hypotheses, it is possible to generate laws about how the world

works. Once the laws are proven, they ‘may be generalisable for universal application’. The

spatial scientist, operating from the position of objectivity, treats the field as something ‘out

9

there’; the subject position of the researcher is distinct and separate from the people the

researcher claims to study.

In contrast, humanism in geography favours subjective experience to objective law.

Epistemologically, whereas spatial science favours generalisability, humanism favours

individuality. Humanists, through a focus on subjective experience, eschew the notion that it

is possible to test hypothesis of the social world empirically; thus they shy away from

deductive theories. Theoretically, humanism’s interests lie in the area of emotions, individual

control and agency, and embodied experience. Similarly, humanists theoretically believe the

world to be orderly, although that ordered world is situated and experienced at the individual

level. They are also interested in intersubjectivity, that is, relations between subjects and

relations between subjects and their place in the world.

Critical realism, the third important theoretical framework in geographical research,

is ‘based in part in structuralism’. Ontologically, critical realists still assert that there is a real

set of processes that structure social life but contend that those processes are mediated by

human knowledge and experience. Theoretically, critical realists understand the world

through empirical investigations of it, although they have become increasingly interested in

the role of discourse and language as objects of analysis of contingent relations. In this school

of thought, oppositional tendencies to bifurcate objectivity and subjectivity, as in spatial

science and humanism, are collapsed.

Epistemologically, poststructuralism operates under the assumptions that the world is

understood through subjective experience; ontologically the world is chaotic. The

assumptions that experience is subjective but that subjectivity is mediated by the deployment

of power through representations and representational practices, therefore, allow

poststructuralists to turn their attention not only to the social construction of space but also to

the ways in which theorists themselves construct the world through the use of their own

epistemological lenses.

While agreeing with Ragurman (1994), cited in Kitchin & Tate (2000, p.6), that such

complex philosophical debates often lead to ‘a lot of apprehension, disenchantment and an

uneasy feeling of being lost in a philosophical wilderness’, it is nevertheless recognised that

such debates are helpful: first, it enables the researcher to understand what other researchers

have done and why, and secondly, it allows for an approach on which to base one’s research

on, in addition to having a theoretical context in which to justify the outcomes of one’s

research.

10

Added to the above, theories and theoretical thinking are important because they inform the

overall research process. Indeed, they are more than just our epistemological and ontological

assumptions as they greatly influence on the choice of methodology a researcher may adopt.

However, one must not lose sight of the fact that in spite of which ‘paradigm’ or

metatheory a researcher applies, ‘theories are only explanations of how the world operates’

(Del Casino, 2006, p. 478). Then again, it is possible that the boundaries between theories

and their objects of analyses may remain blurry. Therefore, it is best to ‘create theories that

are multi-paradigmatic and multi-methodological and that it might be best to consider what

various theories have in common rather than drawing on the boundaries around what might

be different’ (ibid,p.487).

2.3. Concepts and Theories Employed in this Study

The Time-Geographic framework is employed, in addition to elements in the Structuration

and General Systems theories respectively in answering the research questions. It is aimed

that by the use of these framework and theories, an understanding of the factors that

conspired to collapse the pilot BRTS could be obtained. Moreover, as in all researches

conducted in human geography, the reality associated with the human-environment

relationship, both in space and time are often multi-faceted and complex. Therefore, a

combination of concepts and theories may illuminate more than any single concept or theory

will do.

2.3.1. Time-Geographic Framework

Taylor (2003) maintains that time and space form the basic physical dimensions of the

universe. It is believed that our world is a dynamic place and examining how things change

over time allows us to discover temporal patterns (Peuquet, 2006).

Thus, even though Hägerstrand’s (1970) Time-Geography framework was originally

proposed to focus mainly on the relationships between human activities and various

constraints in a space-time context (Golledge and Stimson, 1997), this framework has been

used frequently in a lot of researches to study spatial and temporal characteristics of human

activities in physical space (for example, see Carlstein, 1982; Ellegård, 1999; Parkes &

Thrift, 1980; Yu and Shaw, 2007).

11

In order to posit the Time-Geographic framework in its proper perspective for the purpose of

this study, the discussion begins with the geographical concept of space first. This is then

followed by an in-depth discussion of the framework itself and how it applies to this study.

Space as a concept in geography is as relevant as is divisive. Indeed, the argument has

been made that ‘the importance of the concept of space in geography has always been

controversial (Holt-Jensen, 1999; Unwin, 1992) and whether geography or geographers

should primarily focus on, or at the very least, give some recognition to the importance of

space remains a fundamental question for the discipline’ (Kent, 2003, p. 109).

Historically, special importance has been attached to the power to fix the locations of

events, places and phenomena on the surface of the earth and to represent these on maps. In

his The Nature of Geography (1939), Richard Hartshorne argues that areal differentiation is

the pivot and pinnacle of geographical enquiry, and he treated geography as a ‘correlative

discipline’ whose research methodology involved making comparisons between maps in

order to disclose ‘the functional integration of phenomena’ over space (Johnston et al., 2000).

However, Hartshorne, like most of his peers, took it for granted that space (like time)

was a universal of human existence, an external coordinate of reality, an empty grid of

mutually exclusive points, ‘an unexchanging box’ within which objects exists and events

occur: all of which is to say that he privileged the concept of absolute space (Smith, 1984, p.

ix, cited in Johnston et al., 2000, p. 67-8).

According to Holt-Jensen (1999), the proponents of absolute space treat space as a

container in which ‘first we delimit a spatial section of the earth and then start to examine its

content’. He goes on to argue that the notion of vertical connections i.e. humanity’s

dependence upon local natural resources was the conceptual basis for such studies. Also,

even though Johnston et al. (2000) acknowledge that Hartshorne’s work occupies a strange

position within modern geographical discourses about space, he nevertheless failed to provide

a systematic discussion of the concept of space and even his subsequent genealogy of

geography as one of the ‘spatial sciences’ (with astronomy and geophysics) failed to

elucidate the conceptual basis of his claim.

Other critics also argue that in contrast to the views expressed above whereby spatial

relations are viewed exclusively between the fixed points of a coordinate system, the focus

within current discourse on spatial relations must be defined between objects and events and

thereby made relative to the objects and events that constituted spatial system or spatial

structure. Hence, the concept of relative space – the location of, and distance between,

12

different phenomena in the structure –gained prominence among geographers, especially the

critics of Hartshorne.

By introducing the concept of relative space, horizontal spatial relations and distance

measured in different ways could be given explanatory power. Distance could be measured in

terms of transport costs, travel time, mileage through a transport network and even as

perceived distance. However, Werlen (1993; also cited in Holt-Jensen, 1999) maintains that

the notion of relative space is a blind alley and that actions, rather than space, should be the

focus of human geographic inquiry. As noted previously, the concept of space and its various

characteristics have been the subject of many debates among human geographers to the

extent that newer conception of space as ‘real, material, concrete, non-real, imagined and

symbolic have all emerged in the discipline (Johnston et al., 2000).

Hägerstrand (1970) and his colleagues at Lund did manage to use the concept of space

together with the concept of time, which until that era had been considered only as an

external factor in activity study. Time, according to Hägerstrand, was as essential as space

and should be explicitly included in the investigation process.

Therefore, his conception of Time-Geography employs a two-dimensional space as a

base map to which time is added as a vertical dimension to conceptualise the time-space

paths of individuals ‘upwards’ and sideways through this three-dimensional diagram as they

carried out their everyday tasks. For each individual, he argues, that depending on his or her

access to travel facilities, there is a time-space prism that defines the boundaries of what

activities are possible from his or her home base. Occasionally, an individual’s time-space

will crash with that of other people as they also carry out their daily activities. A classical

case of this scenario, according to Taylor (2003), is a typical ‘rush hour’ where commuters’

time-space paths converge to create a time-space population concentration.

According to an exposition provided by Yu and Shaw (2007), Time Geography

assumes that an individual’s activities are limited by various constraints. Three types of

constraints that can impact an individual’s ability to conduct activities in space and time are:

capability constraints, authority constraints, and coupling constraints (Golledge & Stimson,

1997; ibid). Physiological necessities (e.g. sleeping, eating) and available resources (e.g., auto

ownership) that can constrain a person from participating in activities are recognized as

capability constraints. Authority constraints reflect general rules or laws that limit a person’s

access to either spatial locations (e.g., a military base) or time periods (e.g., open hours of a

library). Coupling constraints are spatial and temporal requirements that allow an individual

13

to bundle with others to conduct certain activities (e.g., having a meeting at a conference

centre at 3pm). Among these three types of constraints, capability and authority constraints

focus on issues related to separate individuals while coupling constraints deal with

interactions among multiple persons.

There are two major time geographic concepts. These are the space-time path and prism.

Figure 2.1 The space-time path. Figure 2.2 The space-time prism. (Hägerstrand 1970)

As illustrated in Figure 2.1, the space-time path traces the individual’s physical movement in

space with respect to time. According to Miller (2003), the path highlights the constraining

effects of a person’s need to be at different locations at different times. It also highlights the

role of transportation in mitigating these constraints. The slope of the curve illustrates the

relationship between time and space in movement. A steeper slope indicates less efficiency in

trading time for space, i.e., more time required per unit space in movement. The path is

vertical when the individual is stationary in space. The path can never be horizontal. The

space-time path can be applied at any temporal scale from real time to a lifespan

(Hägerstrand 1970; ibid).

The space-time prism, as illustrated in Figure 2.2, delimits the possible locations for the

space-time path. In the words of Miller (in press),6 fixed activities anchor a space-time prism since (by

definition) these allow only one spatial possibility during their duration. For example, the two

anchoring locations in Figure 2.2 could be the person’s home (which s/he can leave no earlier than

time ti) and work (where s/he must be no later than time tj). At some time during the time interval tij =

(tj− ti), the person must stop at some location to conduct an activity that will require at least a time

6 http://www.geog.utah.edu/~hmiller/papers/Activities_Space_Time.pdf. Accessed on 12.02.2009

space

space-time path

time

. .

ti

ti j

v

tj

a

14

units. Finally, the person can move with an average maximum velocity v. The interior of the prism is

the potential path space which shows the points in space and time that the person could occupy during

this travel episode. A person cannot participate in an activity unless its space-time path (reflecting its

location and time available) intersects the potential path space to a sufficient degree. Miller further

contends that the projection of the potential path space to geo-space provides the potential path area

i.e. all spatial locations that the person could occupy. A person cannot participate in an activity unless

its location falls within the potential path area (ignoring the temporal duration of activities).

Gatrell (2006) remarks that the Time Geographic concept has been critiqued, first, for

being reductionist i.e. humans are reduced to actors travelling paths to and from stations (or

locations) determined primarily by capability, coupling, and authority constraints. Second,

the method is intensive and requires a great deal of resources to effectively establish the time

geography of an individual, place or local culture, therefore the scale of analysis is highly

localised. Third, Time Geography became embedded within the larger structure and agency

debate of the late 1970s through the mid 1980s. Expectedly, Time Geography was critiqued

by humanists and structuralists alike as either too dependent on structure or too dependent on

agency, respectively.

One could, however, contest Gatrell’s (2006) second critique of the Time-Geography

framework. The method may have been intensive and required lot of resources in the past but

with modern-day GPS tracking technology, it is less laborious to generate time-space

diagrams. The GPS tracking technology records where and when an individual has been. The

data is then imported into 3-Dimensional lines for visualisation and subsequent generation of

the time-space diagrams. If a researcher cannot afford the ‘high-tech’ GPS technology,

perhaps a ‘low tech’ technology such as the traffic congestion registration form, as has been

used in this study, could be employed as well.

Again, in spite of the above criticisms and the apparent difficulty associated with its

application to real world problems, Miller (in press) acknowledges that a good number of

transportation geographic studies, such as Janelle et al. (1998); Kwan (1998); Miller (1999)

and Thill & Horowitz (1997a, 1997b) have made good use of the Time Geographic

framework. Special mention must, however, be made of the use of the Time Geographic

framework in recent GIS-Transportation studies i.e. the application and adaptation of GIS to

research, plan, and manage transportation. Wu & Miller (2001) have developed what they

call a dynamic potential path tree (DPPT), which is an improvement of the earlier network

time prism (NTP), to show variations in accessibility in space based on the individual’s

15

departure time in a network with discrete-time flow dynamics, in addition to studying

variation in traffic flow and congestion over time.

How is the Time Geographic framework of relevance to this study? For the purpose of

this study, ‘human activities’, as used as used by the proponents of the Time Geographic

framework, is replaced with ‘pilot BRT operations’. As the pilot BRTS buses plied their

time-space prism i.e. the Kimbu-Adenta highway, their operational success or otherwise is a

function of the various constraints. Capability constraints (e.g. availability and maintenance

of high capacity buses and other operational logistics, service quantity and quality, etc.),

authority constraints (e.g. availability of road infrastructure, traffic law enactment and

enforcement), and coupling constraints (e.g. unhealthy competition from trotro and taxi

operators, traffic congestion) are some of the potential factors that might have jointly

conspired to collapse the pilot BRTS in Accra.

2.3.2. Structuration Theory

According to Gregory (1994, p. 600), the structuration theory is seen as ‘an approach to

social theory concerned with the intersection between knowledgeable and capable social

agents and the wider social systems and structures in which they are implicated’ (emphasise

mine). Even though authors such as Bourdieu (1977), and Bhaskar (1979) had mentioned this

theory in their writings, it was the work of the British sociologist Anthony Giddens (1979;

1984) that popularised the theory and made the most profound impact in human geography

(Holt-Jensen, 1999, p. 124).

Structuration theory is based on the proposition that ‘structure is always both enabling

and constraining, in virtue of the inherent relation between structure and agency (and agency

and power)’ (Giddens 1984, p. 169). Moreover, the dualism between subject (the

knowledgeable human agent) and the object (society) has to be reconceptualised as a duality

– the duality of structure’ (ibid, p. xxi).

Structure, as used here, may be considered as rules and resources. Resources may be

of two kinds: authoritative resources, which derive from the coordination of the activity of

human agents, and allocative resources, which stem from control of material products or of

aspects of the material world” (ibid, p. xxxi).

He, therefore, draws attention to the fact that structure must be viewed as the

‘structuring properties allowing the binding of time-space in social system, the properties

which make it possible for discernibly similar social practices to exist across varying spans of

16

time and space and which lend them ‘systemic’ form’. Therefore, in his view, ‘those practises

which have the greatest time-space extension within such totalities can be referred to as

institutions’ (ibid, p. 17).

Institutions, by definition, are the more enduring features of social life (ibid, p. 24) or

as North (1993, p. 3) calls it, ‘the rules of the game in society or, more formally, are the

humanly devised constraints that shape human interaction’.

North (1993) identifies three kinds of institutions. These are political, which

mobilizes ‘authoritative resources’ in that it wields ‘the transformative capacity generating

command over persons or actors’. The second is economic, which controls ‘allocative

resources’, i.e. ‘capabilities or more accurately, forms of transformative capacity, generating

command over objects, goods or material phenomena’ (ibid, p. 33). The third and final is

legal institutions.

Constraints, as used by Giddens, also refer to the ‘limit which the physical capacities

of the human body, plus relevant features of the physical environment, place upon the

feasible options open to agents’ (ibid, p. 174)

The structuration theory has not gone without scathing criticism. For instance, John B.

Thompson, a close friend and colleague of Giddens at the Cambridge University, draws

attention to the ‘looseness’ of the latter’s explanation of structures as rules and resources and

argues that Giddens has not provided adequate account that will make it ‘useful and

satisfactory to identify social structure with rules (and resources)’ (Stones, 2005, p. 47;

Thompson, 1989, p. 64). Other critics, such as Archer (2004) and Parker (2000) believe that

‘the moment of structuration theory passed sometime ago. It still figures prominently in

routine social theoretical talk, but its force is only that of a tired conventional wisdom’ (cited

in Stones, 2005, p. 45). The main reason for such uneven fortunes of structuration theory ‘has

been the absence of any concerted and systematic attempt to respond to criticisms at the

theoretical level. The person one might expect to undertake this task, Anthony Giddens,

defied any such expectations’ Stones (2005, p. 2).

Be that as it may, this study finds some elements of the structuration theory quite

useful. I will, in the ensuing paragraphs, explain the relevance of employing the structuration

theory.

The supply of public transport is limited to a large degree by the existing structures or

resources available to the provider. The Metro Mass Transit Limited’s operation of an

‘express’ bus service in Accra could only take place on the existing infrastructure, the major

17

of which is roads, whose construction and maintenance is largely the function of the political

institutions of Ghana. Political institutions can undertake certain decisions that may enable

or constrain human interactions. In the early 1980’s, Ghana underwent series of structural

adjustments aimed at ‘improving the competitiveness and efficiency of the economy’ (Ellis,

2000, p. 164). Such adjustment is also typically taken to include attention to infrastructure,

both economic infrastructure (roads, railways, telecommunications, energy supplies) and

social infrastructure (health and education services) (ibid, 165).

Thus, the structuration theory illuminates on the research objective of identifying the

challenges of urban transport provision in general, and of particular interest, the factors that

culminate in the occurrence of traffic congestion in Accra and the extent to which the existing

transport structures enabled or constrained the operations of the former ‘BRTS’.

Even though the structuration theory is a sociological concept, Giddens’ (1984)

assertion that ‘there are no logical or methodological differences between human geography

and sociology’, (p. 368) and that the structuration theory ‘will not be of much value if it does

not help to illuminate problems of empirical research’ (p. xxix), provides further justification

for its usage in this study.

2.3.3. General Systems Theory

Hammond, (2002, p. 429) writes the history of systems theory by quoting West Churchman

that ‘it all began with four people: Bertalanffy, Boulding, Gerard and Rapoport who met in

1954 at the Stanford Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences.’

She notes furthermore that one of the famous founders, Ludwig von Bertalanffy and

his three categories of systems thinking – technology, science, and philosophy – provide a

useful starting point for an analysis of the philosophical and ethical foundations of the

systems field (Hammond, 2005, p. 20).

As postulated by L. von Bertalanffy (1968), all things (as objects primarily but also as

ideas) have connections with many other things and the significance of any one depends on

its relationships with others. Hence, the unit of study should be not a single thing but a

system of interrelated objects or ideas (Chisholm, 1967, p. 45).

System is a group of elements organised such that each one is in some way

interdependent (either directly or indirectly) with every other element. In addition, it is

required that the systems have a function, goal or purpose (Johnston et al, 2000 p. 818).

18

Furthermore, studies of systems, according to Johnston et al. (2000), have always

tended to address four key issues. First, whether a system is closed (i.e. has no links to or

from a surrounding environment) or open (i.e. have and interact with the milieux). The latter

is more common in geographical inquiry. Second, whether the system can be divided into

subsystems, or clusters of interdependent elements which are only weakly-linked to the

remainder of the system. Third, whether the links involve flows, causal relationships or

‘black-box’ relationship (in which the consequence of the link is known but the causal factors

are not). Lastly, whether there is a feedback in the system such that change in x may stimulate

change in y, and this will in turn have an impact on x, either positive or negative. When there

is negative feedback, it means that there is disharmony between and among the various sub-

systems and this may lead to inefficiencies, or what Bertalanffy (1968) refer to as entropy or

disorder in the whole system.

However, the problem with the systems thinking is that systems may be embedded in

systems, and that what we choose to regard as an element at one level of analysis may itself

constitute a system at a lower level of analysis. However, these difficulties in the notion of

systems embedded within systems ad infinitum, according to Harvey (1969, p. 453), is an

attractive one.

In geography, the systems theoretical concept has found much relevance, especially in

the physical aspects of the discipline. Contemporary physical geographers have extensively

used the theory in researching on themes such as atmosphere, weather, climate,

biogeographic processes, soils, weathering, mass wasting and land forms (Christopherson,

2005; Pidwirny, 2006; Strahler & Strahler. 2003). The reason for its relevance to physical

geography might not be far-fetched especially when one considers the fact that the objects of

study and modus operandi of physical geographers are similar or almost the same as the

physical sciences from which the general systems theory first evolved.

However, the same cannot be said of human geographers. In fact since its introduction

into the discipline of geography by the British geographers, R. J. Chorley (1962) and P.

Haggett (1965), it has been said that the ‘applications of general systems theory principles

within human geography made few substantive achievements, however (the early work on

macrogeography was a partial exception), and few geographers now search for such

universals’ (Johnston et al., 2000, p. 293). Chisholm is even quoted to have described the

concept as ‘irrelevant distraction’ (ibid).

19

The reason for the lack of popularity of the general systems theory in human

geography may be that the concept was introduced during the Quantitative Revolution of the

discipline in the 1960s. Studies conducted during this era have been generally labelled as

positivistic in the sense that not only did the proponents seek to make generalised statements

about human spatial behaviours but they also attempted to incorporate physical laws directly

into a social science discipline like geography.

It needs to be mentioned also that this theory has received its share of criticisms by

renowned scholars, especially Giddens (1984), who for instance, criticises the theory for what

he refers to as its ‘empire-building endeavours’ by emphasising the pre-eminence of the

social whole over its individual parts. Also, in line with hermeneutic tradition, he regards the

social and natural sciences as radically discrepant.

Be that as it may, Chisholm’s (1967 p. 48) argument that ‘the General Systems

Theory seems to offer a means of unification through the discovery of principles that are

relevant to both physical and human geography’ and Bertalanffy’s (1968, p. 34) own

assertion that, ‘it seems, therefore, that a general theory of systems would be a useful tool,

providing, on the one hand, models that can be used in, and transferred to, different fields,

and safeguarding, on the other hand, from vague analogies which often have marred the

progress in these fields’ (emphasise mine), provide major sources of justification for the use

of this theory in this study.

This study does not seek to make generalisations. Neither does it seek to relive a futile

attempt to force physical laws into the social sciences but certain basic assumptions and

concepts of the general systems theory such as sub-systems, relationships and flow and

feedback are not only appealing, but it is also believed that they will help illuminate on the

factors that conspired to collapse the pilot BRTS in Accra. These are the justifications for the

choice of the General Systems Theory.

Transport geographers are concerned primarily with ‘the provision of transport

systems, the use of those systems for the movement of people and goods, and the relationship

between transport and other geographical phenomena’ (Johnston, 2000 p.855). Transport

systems, it is argued, ‘are complex and subject to continual change. Furthermore, there is no

simple definition of what constitutes a transport system. Much depends on the eye of the

beholder’ (Button & Hensher, 2001, p. 2). In analysing the urban transport system using the

general systems theory, three influencing key subsystems have been identified for the

purpose of this study. These are land use, transport supply and traffic.

20

Land use may be seen as the legal use of land, the type of structures and

socioeconomic activities. Transport supply, according to Jean-Paul et al. (2006), refers to the

capacity of transportation infrastructures and modes, generally over a geographically defined

transport system and for a specific period of time. Therefore, supply is expressed in terms of

infrastructures (capacity), services (frequency) and networks. The number of passengers,

volume (for liquids or containerized traffic), or mass (for freight) that can be transported per

unit of time and space are commonly used to quantify transport supply. According to Addo

(2002), traffic, the third subsystem, is a direct function of land use. Urban transport system is

seen as a sub-system which is an integral part of the much wider urban system.

As illustrated in Figure 2.3. below, traffic congestion in Accra, be it recurring due to

insufficient capacity, unrestrained demand and ineffective management of capacity (e.g. poor

signal timing); or non-recurring due to accidents, work zones, weather events etc.7, is a direct

function of land use, which is in turn shaped by national and local policies. Again, such

policies have direct bearing on transport supply which also influences the occurrence of

traffic congestion. All these sub-systems affect public transport services. The urban

environment acts as the wider system under which all these sub-systems exist and operate.

With the use of General Systems Theory, the linkages or relationships, flow and feedbacks

between and among the various sub-systems are illuminated. Besides, it will be useful for this

study, to assess the roles, responsibilities and dynamic interactions between and among the

various actors (e.g drivers, pedestrians, hawkers, the transport policy makers and legislators

such as the political administrators, traffic law enforcers e.g. the police) as parts of one whole

system in order to get the full picture as to some of the other possible factors that might have

conspired against the successful implementation of the pilot BRTS in Accra.

7 http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/program_areas/reduce-non-cong.htm. Accessed on 07.05.2008

21

Figure 2.3. The Urban Transport System

THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT

Exhibits one-way relationship

Exhibits series relationship

Source: Authors’ own construct, 2009

PUBLIC

TRANSPORT

SERVICES e.g.

National& Local

policies

� Central

Government

� Municipalitie

s

� District

Assemblies

� Law

enforcement

agencies (e.g.

MTTU)

� Others

Transport Supply

� Private/Public

� Infrastructure

� Roads/railways

� Terminals/Stations/

Ports

� Pedestrian

walkways

� Bicycle lanes

� Signage & traffic

management

systems

� Others

Land Use

� Residential

� Commercial &

Services (e.g.

hawkers)

� Markets

� Recreation/Open

Space/Parks &

Gardens

� Industrial

� Transportation,

Communications

& Utilities

� Others

Traffic

� Recurring

congestion

� Non-recurring

congestion

22

2.4. Literature Review

2.4. 1. Introduction

Owing to its ubiquitous occurrence, especially in cities across the world, various academic

disciplines, such as geography, economics, planning, computer applications and engineering

have given tremendous attention to the subject of traffic congestion. The greater part of the

current literature, however, seems to be concentrated on issues like modelling traffic

dynamics (Chevallier et al., 2009); modelling traffic flow (Cho et al., 2009), and visual

based traffic monitoring system (Wang & Ruskin, 2002).

This chapter reviews other relevant literature that defines and characterises traffic

congestion as well as the impacts of the phenomenon. Special attention is also given to

existing literature on the bus rapid transit system.

2.4.2 Definition and Types of Traffic Congestion

It has been argued, and rightly so, that ‘traffic congestion presents a common if not inevitable

facet of traffic activity in a region, particularly in urban areas’ (Taylor et al., 2000, p. 267).

Although this phenomenon is human-induced and it is seen as an integral element in any

transport system all over the world, a unanimous definition has defied scholars.

A review of the several definitions reveals three basic recurrent themes. First of all,

congestion involves the imposition of additional costs on all users of a transport facility by

each user of that facility. Secondly, transport facilities (such as road links, intersections, lanes

and turning movements) have finite capacities to handle traffic, and congestion occurs when

the demand to use a facility approaches or exceeds the capacity. Finally, congestion occurs on

a regular, cyclic basis, reflecting the levels and scheduling of social and economic activities

in a given area. This may be properly termed as recurring congestion. On the other side of

the coin, special episodes of congestion may occur at different points in a network due to

irregular incidents, such as road works, breakdowns or accidents. This may also be referred

to as non-recurring congestion (Taylor, 1992; Taylor et al., 2000). Following this review, a

more comprehensive definition which has gained acceptance for use in traffic studies is that

of Taylor (1999). He notes:

traffic congestion is the phenomenon of increased disruption of traffic movement

on an element of the transport system, observed in terms of delays and queuing,

that is generated by the interactions amongst the flow units in a traffic stream or in

23

intersecting traffic streams. The phenomenon is most visible when the level of

demand for movement approaches or exceeds the present capacity of the element

and the best indicator of the occurrence of congestion is the presence of queues

(Taylor et al., 2000, p. 269).

One other theme worth mentioning is that traffic congestion is dynamic and thus, varies

spatio-temporally, that is to say, it varies with space and time.

2.4.3. Why Does Traffic Congestion Occur?

Palma & Lindsey (2002) note that the occurrence of congestion in all transportation facilities

may be accounted for by three features that characterise travel demand and supply. The

reasons are that demand varies over time, supply is relatively fixed over long time periods

and output is not storable.

Expatiating further, these authors note that travel demand varies significantly with

time. For instance, systematic daily and weekly variations in travel demand are informed by

work and school schedules, and by the operating hours of businesses, shopping, and

entertainment establishments. Also, annual fluctuations in travel demand are affected by the

timing and length of school holidays and religious festivals, by sporting event schedules, and

by the seasonal nature of outdoor recreational activities. Other social activities such as

sporting meets, fairs, and other ‘special events’, may as well cause travel demand to fluctuate.

While demand has been noted to be variable, transportation supply, on the other hand, is

static.

Transportation supply consists of infrastructure and mobile plant. The authors note

that whereas infrastructure generally has a longer life span, involves lots of capital, thus,

making it very costly and time-consuming to alter, mobile plant, on the other hand, comes in

smaller and cheaper units than infrastructure, and has a shorter lifetime, but it still lasts much

longer than the time scale of demand fluctuations. The scope to alter the supply of vehicle

services is limited by the mobility of the plant itself and by the degree to which differences

between regions and traveller groups in the timing of peak demands can be exploited.

Coupled with the above, they note that output is not storable in the sense that a

traveller or freight shipment must be present to be transported. Thus, like other services such

24

as haircuts and concerts, but unlike commodities such as grain and steel, production cannot

be stored to smooth imbalances between supply and demand.

Simply put, as a direct function of demand fluctuations, rigid supply and the

impossibility of storage, the utilization rate of transportation facilities varies over time.

Variations in utilization are magnified by intermittent reductions in capacity due to accidents,

strikes, bad weather and so on. Because land is scarce and capacity is expensive, it would be

prohibitively expensive to build enough capacity to prevent congestion at all times, hence, the

occurrence and perpetuation of traffic congestion in the transport system.

2.4.4. Procedures Involved in Measurement of Traffic Congestion

A lot of literature abound that proposes several techniques that may be employed in studying

and quantifying congestion (Francois and Willis, 1995; Schwartz et al., 1995; Lomax et al.,

1997). According to a review conducted by Lomax et al. (1997), these techniques could be

generally classified under highway capacity manual (HCM) measures; queuing-related

measures; and travel time-based measures respectively.

Of these three, the travel time-based measures are the commonly used methods in

studying travel time, travel speed and delay. This is because they are easy to understand by

both professionals and the travelling public. Also their flexibility makes it easy to describe

traffic conditions at various levels of resolutions in both space and time. Not surprisingly, it is

said that, ‘an increasing number of transportation agencies are switching to travel time

measures to monitor and manage congestion’ (Quiroga, 2000, p. 290.). The only major

disadvantage is ‘budgetary limitation which usually imposes severe restrictions on the

number and coverage of travel time studies’ (ibid.). This particular reason is, perhaps, among

the several reasons why this technique was adopted and adapted for use in this study.

There are two main sets of travel time data collection techniques. These are roadside

and vehicle techniques respectively. The former includes license plate matching and

automatic vehicle identification (AVI). The latter i.e. vehicle techniques, are based on the use

of detection devices carried inside the vehicle. Examples of these techniques include the

traditional stopwatch and clipboard technique as well as the automatic vehicle location

(AVL) technique. It is said that in ‘the stopwatch and clipboard technique, the travel time

and passage of specific landmarks are manually recorded along the route’ (ibid, p. 294).

Following their extensive studies in three metropolitan areas in Louisiana: Baton

Rouge, Shreveport and New Orleans where over 180,000 segment travel time and speed

25

records were generated between 1995 and 1996 from close to three million GPS data points,

Quiroga and Bullock (1998) propose the need to compute representative speed values by

aggregating the data at the segment level first. This approach enabled them to reduce the huge

volumes of data and made it possible to produce simplified reports out of them. They then

proceeded to devise several equations that could be used to aggregate the data. One of such

equations which calculate the average travel time per segment is stated thus:

Where mi is the number of runs (or sample size) per segment; Li is the length of each segment

and uij is the jth speed record associated with segment i (ibid. p. 110).

However, this equation measures only the harmonic mean, which by definition, is

very sensitive to individual values which are much lower than the rest in the series. As a

result, these authors note that outlying low speeds, which usually are the case on a typically

adverse traffic conditions, could result in very small average speeds.

In order to avoid this situation, their conclusion is that the median segment travel

times should be calculated instead. It is argued by Duncan, 1986 (cited in Quiroga & Bullock

(1998) that ‘the median is known for not being seriously affected by others and in many cases

it is preferred by statisticians as a measurement of central tendency’. Indeed, it is argued that

‘a high median speed represents average traffic condition much better than a low harmonic

mean speed’ (Ibid, p.124).

2.4.5 The Geography and Characteristics of BRTS

Basically, the IEA (2002) identifies a Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) as a system that

emphasises priority for rapid movement of buses by securing segregated bus ways. Wright

(2002) notes that the BRTS may also be referred to as ‘high-capacity bus systems’; ‘high-

quality bus systems’; ‘metro-bus’ or ‘express bus systems’.

It is argued that BRTS in South America started in Curitiba (Brazil) and have now

become widespread in the region including Bogota (Columbia), and Quito (Ecuador). In

North America, a number of cities have begun to develop BRTS, including Ottawa (Canada),

Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, and Honolulu (the United States). In Oceania, Brisbane and

26

Adelaide (Australia) have BRTS. In Europe, BRTS are becoming increasingly common in

cities in the United Kingdom, including Leeds, London, Reading, and Ipswich. Cities in Asia

have started to introduce BRTS, such as the systems in Nagoya (Japan), Taipei (China),

Jakarta (Indonesia), and Seoul (Korea). Introductions of BRTS are being considered in

Beijing (China), Bangkok (Thailand), Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad (India), and Dhaka

(Bangladesh) (see Fjellstrom 2003a; 2003b; IEA, 2002, ITDP, 2003; Wright 2002). In Africa,

Lagos (Nigeria) has a functioning BRTS and Cape Town (South Africa) is constructing a

BRTS which is set to kick off in March, 2010.8

A very well planned BRTS not only have high capacities to carry passengers in a

comfortable, rapid, and secure manner, but can also provide low-cost public transport

alternatives. It is documented that the use of large capacity bi-articulated buses, for instance,

could result in flow rates of 22 000 passengers per hour (in each direction) in Curitiba

(Brazil) (Jefferson, 1996; Webb, 1993).

A recent study conducted by the Federal Transit Administration has also revealed that

Bogota’s Transmilenio, New York’s Lincoln Tunnel XBL, and the Sao Paolo BRTS, for

instance, could individually have peak capacities of at least 25,000 passengers per hour. Also,

systems in Curitiba (Brazil) and Ottawa (Canada) carry up to 15,000 passengers per hour.9

Given the ubiquitous distribution of the BRTS, it can be difficult to pinpoint exactly which

specifications a particular system must possess in order to be called as a ‘proper’ BRTS.

However, after extensive studies, the Bus Rapid Transit Policy Center of the Breakthrough

Technologies Institute, which is an independent, Washington DC-based think-tank, has

identified seven major components of a BRTS. These are:

(1) Dedicated Right of Way. BRTS vehicles usually operate in their own right-of-way

(ROW), thus greatly increasing speed and reducing travel time. Unlike rail, this ROW can be

shared with emergency vehicles, providing congestion-free travel for public safety, or with

other high occupancy vehicles (HOV’s).Where appropriate, BRTS vehicles can leave the

dedicated ROW to take passengers directly to their destination. This avoids the need for

feeder bus systems, driving, or other options to reach an individual’s final destination. While

off from the dedicated ROW, BRTS vehicles can use special technologies to keep traffic

lights green as the vehicle approaches, thus minimizing red light delays.

8 http://www.capetown.gov.za/EN/IRT/Pages/default.aspx. Accessed on 13.02.2009

9 http://www.gobrt.org/ Accessed on 13.02.2009

27

(2) Stations: BRTS stations are convenient and easily accessible. They can range from

enhanced bus shelters to complete subway-like facilities. This flexibility in station design

enables communities to invest in the stations that are right for them. Stations may include

parking, shops, bicycle and pedestrian access. Stations also may include amenities that

provide customers with a better transit experience, such as passenger information signs and

“next vehicle” displays and announcements.

Good station design normally includes “passing lanes” that enable BRTS vehicles to

get around docked vehicles. This enables express service and increases travel speeds. Good

station design also includes a passenger platform that is level with the door of the BRTS

vehicle. This enables passengers to directly board the vehicle without steps or other obstacles,

and thus reduces the waiting time the vehicle must be in the station.

(3) Vehicles: There are many vehicles available for BRTS service. Generally, these

vehicles are easy to board, comfortable to ride, and quiet. They also use clean fuel

technologies, protecting the local environment. Some vehicles look and feel like light rail and

have the option of using overhead power, but they are not limited to that power or to tracks.

Other vehicles look more like traditional buses, but are easier to board and have no diesel

exhaust. The most advanced vehicles offer optical or magnetic guidance, enhancing safety

and allowing the vehicle to pull within inches of the platform, just like a subway. BRTS

vehicles also include low floors and multiple, double-wide doors. This makes boarding easy

and convenient, even for disabled persons. Some vehicles include on-board information

systems, telling passengers where they are and when they can expect to reach their

destination. Vehicle capacities vary greatly depending on the size and design of the vehicle.

Double and triple-section “articulated” vehicles can carry 150 or more passengers, providing

ample capacity for peak rush hour demand.

(4) Fare Collection: Like rail systems, BRTS fares can be collected before entering

the platform. This is important, because the longer the vehicle spends in the station, the

longer the total trip time. Where a city also has a rail system, the same fare collection

technology can be used, enabling passengers to use a single fare card or token system.

(5) Service: BRTS provides high frequency service throughout the day, eliminating

the need to consult a trip schedule. BRTS also provides the unique ability to offer a

combination of express and local service. Depending upon demand, vehicles can stop at all

stations, some stations, or no stations between their origin and destination.

28

(6) Route Structure: The BRTS system’s flexibility makes it possible to design

systems that offer more passengers the option of a no-transfer, one-seat ride to their

destination. Multiple BRTS routes can be implemented, offering the community a thicker

network of rapid transit routes. Moreover, these routes can go into neighbourhoods and office

parks, thus bringing transit to the people, rather than forcing people to get to a rail station by

driving or via feeder bus systems. Once passengers are delivered to these “off-line” stations,

the BRTS vehicle can return to its dedicated ROW. The route structure is usually presented in

easy to read format, eliminating the need to follow complicated bus maps. This makes the

system more attractive to a greater number of customers, thus enhancing ridership.

(7) Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS): BRTS uses ITS systems to track vehicle

locations, control traffic signals, update passengers on travel times, and perform other

important functions. These technologies can provide “next vehicle” displays, announce

arrivals and departures, ensure better traffic flow, and enhance safety and security on the

vehicle and in the station. Some ITS technologies are in fixed locations, such as at the station

or on board the vehicle. Through digital wireless, however, next bus and other information

can be transmitted to a customer’s cell phone.

2.4.6 Arguments For and Against BRTS

Given the fact the one of the characteristics of the BRTS vehicles is to manipulate the traffic

signage mechanism to suit their operations, it is reasonable to expect that other vehicle types

that also depend on the traffic signage system could be in serious traffic congestion. In effect,

the BRTS does not actually deal with the congestion problem.

However, in view of the numerous positive characteristics of the BRTS, for instance, the use

of high occupancy vehicles to move people en masse, a lot of vehicles would have been taken

from the roads than if all of these passengers had driven their own cars, and therefore, one

could safely conclude that the BRTS initiative does indeed tackle traffic congestion in a very

significant manner.

Again, in their study about the positive impacts of the BRTS, Wohrnscimmel et al.

(2008) noted that exposures to gaseous air pollutants and elemental carbon were by far the

highest for commuters who use private and low-capacity public transport vehicles as against

those who use high capacity public transport vehicles like a BRTS.

29

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

Seen as ‘the process of enquiry and discovery’ (Kitchin & Tate, 2000, p.1), research has also

been defined as ‘knowledge production, seeking answers to questions through inquiry’

(Mikkelsen, 2005, p. 135). Usually, research proceeds along a methodology, which in the

words of Kitchin & Tate (2000, p. 6), may be described as ‘a coherent set of rules and

procedures which can be used to investigate a phenomenon or situation (within the

framework dictated by epistemological and ontological ideas)’.

Thus, research methodology may be described as including all the scientific

procedures a researcher adopt to generate, analyse, interpret and present data. The adoption

and rationale of a particular methodological approach is usually a function of the research’s

theoretical framework or construct. In the words of Warf (2006, p. 486), methodology is ‘a

meso-level theoretical construct that allows researchers to translate their epistemological and

ontological assumptions into data’.

This chapter involves discussions on the research methodological approach used in

this study. Sub-topics that will be discussed include: sources of primary and secondary data,

research instruments used, strengths and weaknesses of the methodological approaches

employed, challenges faced in this study, reliability and validity of the data as well as the

techniques of data analysis and presentation.

3.2 Sources of Primary Data

In the generation of primary data for this study, which took place during the months of June,

July and August of 2008, both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed.

Quantitative methods have been defined as ‘the use of mathematical techniques,

theorems and proofs in understanding geographical forms and relations. Two main types of

application exist: statistical methods, which are employed in generating and testing

hypotheses using empirical data, and pure mathematical modelling, which is employed when

deriving formal models from a set of initial abstract assumptions. The two types come

together in calibration: statistical methods are used to estimate, and test the significance of,

various parameters associated with a given mathematical model’ (Johnston et al., 2000, p.

663).

30

Qualitative methods ‘are concerned with how the world is viewed, experienced and

constructed by social actors. They provide access to the motives, aspirations and power

relationships that account for how places, people and events are made and represented’ (ibid.

p.660). These methods represent what Cloke et al. (1992) have aptly described as ‘the

peopling of human geography’ (ibid).

3.3 Quantitative Versus Qualitative Sources of Data Generation

Quantitative data, according to Kitchin and Tate (2000, p. 40) are ‘generally structured and

the data consists of numbers or empirical facts that can easily be ‘quantified’ and analysed

using numeric (statistical) techniques’. Quantitative methods, we are told, measure objective

facts and focus on variables. Reliability is their key. They are value free and in most

instances, independent of context. The quantitative approaches deal with many cases or

subjects and rely heavily on statistical analysis. The added strength is that the researcher is

detached (Mikkelsen, 2005; Neuman, 2003).

Qualitative data, on the other hand, are ‘generally unstructured and consists of words,

pictures and sounds’ (Kitchin & Tate, 2000, p. 40). It has been argued that the qualitative

methods have the advantages of being able to effectively construct social reality or cultural

meaning and focuses on interactive process or event. Also, authenticity is their hallmark and

values are present and explicit. They are situationally constrained and their main focus is on

thematic analyses. However, in contrast with quantitative data, the qualitative tradition

usually deals with few cases or subjects and the researcher is involved (Mikkelsen, 2005;

Neuman, 2003).

Controversies have raged over which research method is appropriate. At the risk of

over-generalization, quantitative methods have been identified with positivism. Propounded

by Comte (1798-1857) in response to the ‘negative philosophy’ during pre-revolution France,

positivists argue that ‘by carefully and objectively collecting data regarding social

phenomena, we can determine laws to predict and explain human behaviour in terms of cause

and effect. Like empiricists, positivists reject normative and metaphysical (relating to being)

questions that cannot be measured scientifically’ (Kitchin & Tate, 2000, p.8). The major

point of departure from empiricism, however, is that positivism ‘requires propositions to be

verified (logical positivism) or hypothesis falsified (critical rationalism) rather than simply

presenting findings’ (ibid).

31

Among the several criticisms levelled against positivism, Gregory (1986) notes that

the first is its empiricist position by the seeming underestimation of the ‘complex relationship

between theory and observation’. Also, positivism has been criticised for its exclusivity by

assuming that ‘methods of the natural sciences can be effectively used to explain social

phenomena’, thus, failing to ‘recognise that spatial patterns and processes are bound up in

economic, social and political structures’ (Cloke et al, 1992; Kitchin & Tate, 2000, p.8).

Lastly, positivist’s insistence on scientific research being autonomous, value-free, neutral and

objective has been rejected. This autonomy argument ‘creates a false sense of objectivity by

artificially separating the observer from the observed’ (ibid). Added to the above, it is argued

that quantitative methods, like any specialized language, ‘are very useful in answering some

questions but not all questions’ (Pratt, 1989; cited in Johnston et al, 2000, p. 664).

By being situationally-constrained and dealing with only a few cases or subjects, a

major weakness associated with the qualitative methods is the inability to make universal

conclusions. Also, reliability—‘the ability of a measure to produce consistent results’

(Rudestam & Newton, 1992, p. 67)—is hard to obtain. Moreover, with the observer being

involved in the observed, there is the inherent disadvantage of researcher bias. It must be

pointed out, however, that this problem of researcher bias is not limited only to the qualitative

methods but to the so-called ‘value-free’ quantitative methods as well.

Therefore, it is argued that ‘both qualitative and quantitative approaches have their

strengths and weaknesses. Neither one is markedly superior to the other...in many studies you

need to combine both the qualitative and quantitative approaches’ (Kumar, 1996, p. 12). A

further argument is made that ‘research which combines different qualitative methods and

exploits the complementarity of qualitative and quantitative findings looks poised to gain a

new respectability within the discipline’ (Johnston et al, 2000, p. 664).

Referred to as ‘triangulation’ by social scientists, a combination of both quantitative

and qualitative methods is said to enable researchers ‘have a more critical attitude towards the

mechanistic use of quantitative methods and a more relaxed attitude to the use of qualitative

methods; allow flexibility and improvisations in choice of practical methods, i.e., iteration

between data and partial results; the people researched are seen as subjects rather than objects

and are often involved in the research process’ (Mikkelsen, 2005, p. 144). Furthermore, the

triangulation approach, as is adopted in this study, is to enable me gather evidence from

multiple sources to address my research questions from different points of view. The added

advantage is that the research work is broadened and its validity strengthened (Baker, 1990).

32

While conceding that the distinction between the qualitative and quantitative methods

is good in that it provides an avenue to discuss differences in methodologies, I am of the

opinion, just as a good number of scholars, that the division should only be seen as artificial

and that the two approaches need to be seen ‘as a continuum rather than polar opposites’

(Kitchin & Tate, 2000, p.40). After all, it is said that ‘there is no law that states that

qualitative and quantitative methods have to be used in isolation from each other’

(Mikkelsen, 2005, p. 40) and that ‘if modelling is not accompanied by qualitative analysis,

complex but nevertheless comprehensible social forms may be reduced to...‘contentless

abstractions’ which are easy to manipulate but difficult to interpret’ (Sayer, 1992, p. 201).

Also, my choice of the triangulation method is to be able to understand the ‘interpretation and

meaning that people give to events they experience’ (Polkinghorne 1991, p. 112; Rudestam &

Newton, 1992, p.31).

GIS-based techniques were the main research tool employed in generating the

quantitative data for this study. Against this backdrop, it is salient to reiterate my awareness

of the over-generalised critique against the quantitative methods as being closely associated

with positivism. Thus, if a study, like this one, employs statistical methods and/or GIS, it is

too often wrongly labelled as being positivistic. Readers must take note that even though it

has been demonstrated that GIS has antecedents in cartography and quantitative methods, an

argument is put forward that ‘there is an inchoate but emphatic sense, among researchers, that

GIS extends quantitative techniques’ (Schuurman, 2004, p. 7). In actual fact, Fotheringham et

al. (2000, p. 234) have traced the metamorphosis in the geneology of GIS and they conclude

that ‘we have witnessed the progression from models whose only justification was an

empirical regularity and an analogy to gravitational attraction; to models derived from either

non-behavioural or aspatial theories imported from other disciplines; and finally to models

based on principles of spatial information processing, sub-optimality, hierarchical decision

making and spatial cognition. Current research lies in consolidating and improving this latest

framework’.

Again, it is believed that ‘GIS has re-established the importance of intuition and

simplicity of exploration over those very hard-core confirmatory hypothesis-testing

techniques’ (Schuurman, 2004, p.112). These authors provide ample justification for the use

of the GIS-based techniques for the quantitative data generation.

33

In order to identify the other potential factors that led to the collapse of the pilot

BRTS, in-depth interviews with key informants; focus group discussion and participatory

observation were the used as research tools for the generation of qualitative primary data.

3.4 Research Tools Employed in Primary Data Generation

3.4.1. GIS-based Techniques

In the view of Affum & Taylor (1999), the temporal and spatial distribution of congestion in

a region is important, and the use of GIS software for database integration, data analysis and

data display is most advantageous. Basically, GIS is seen by Thill (2000, p.4) as a ‘computer-

based systems for the capture, storage, manipulation, display and analysis of geographic

information’. Indeed, GIS technology is able to integrate common database operations such

as query and statistical analysis with the unique visualization and geographic analysis

benefits offered by maps (Derekenaris et al., 2001; ESRI, 2009; Franklin, 1992; Muller,

1993). Also, GIS ‘presents geographers with ways to visualize spatial arrangements and, in

the process, restore intuition as a valid heuristic technique’ (Schuurman, 2004, p. 112). In

recent times, transportation experts have found the benefit of using the GIS as a powerful tool

in their work. According to Thill (2000, p. 4), it is now common to come across the acronym

GIS-T which simply refers to ‘the application and adaptation of GIS to researching, planning,

and management in transportation’.

In compliance with the suggestion by Taylor et al. (2000) that ‘rigorous spatial

analysis using GIS is only possible when the appropriate map databases are available’,

existing spatial data comprising the road network of Accra was obtained from the Centre for

Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Services (CERSGIS) of the University of

Ghana and the Ghana Geological Survey Department respectively. With these geographic

data and with the use of the ArcGIS 9.3 software, a base vector map with links to a database

was made by the author.

Using the Global Positioning System (GPS), which is a satellite-based navigation

system consisting of a network of 24 satellites placed into orbit by the U.S. Department of

Defence, and which until the 1980s was primarily the preserve of the military, the locational

coordinates of all bus stops designated for the pilot BRTS, from Kimbu to Adenta, were

34

manually picked and recorded in a log book. This was done with the use of the high-

sensitivity, WAAS-enabled eTrex Vista HCx GPS receiver.10

These GPS points were co-referenced with the existing spatial data on Accra. The

actual exercise to map the geography of traffic congestion on the selected corridor then

followed. This was done by adopting and adapting to the traditional stopwatch and clipboard

technique as suggested in the literature by Quiroga (2000, p. 294) that ‘the travel time and

passage of specific landmarks are manually recorded along the route’.

In this study, I made use of the traditional stopwatch and traffic congestion

registration form technique (see Appendix 1 Traffic Congestion Registration Form). This

digitally formatted form was used to measure travel time on the Kimbu-Adenta highway by

recording the time an MMT bus departed from a particular stop to the next stop. This process

continued for the entire duration of the journey. This process was repeated many times and

with different bus drivers in order to avoid the danger of being unduly influenced by the

driver’s driving style (Taylor et al., 2000). As a general rule of thumb, it is suggested that in

‘order to overcome the sampling problem, each route should be driven at least 15 times with

different drivers each time’, even though ‘this is seldom a practical proposition, and may

introduce its own inaccuracies’ (ibid, p.264).

Taking into the consideration the fact that traffic congestion varied spatio-temporally,

the data was captured during the ‘rush hour’ periods, i.e. morning and evening peaks as well

as the afternoon off-peak periods. Working only during the weekdays, i.e. Monday to Friday

and making six trips daily, a total number of 120 trips were made.

3.4.2. Interviews with Key Informants and a Discussion11

As part of the methods for generating qualitative data for this study, in-depth interviews were

conducted on operators of the former pilot BRTS and policy makers in charge of public

transportation in Accra, in addition to a transportation expert at the University of Ghana.

In the words of Kvale (1996, p. xvii), interviews are ‘conversations where the

outcome is a co-production of the interviewer and the subject’. Indeed, it is ‘an inter view, an

inter change of views between two persons conversing about a theme of mutual interest’

(ibid, p. 2)

10

For further information, visit http://www8.garmin.com/aboutGPS/waas.html 11

See Appendixes 2-4. For Question or interview guides.

35

In order to obtain special knowledge about the operations of the Metro Mass Transit Limited,

in general, and specifically on the pilot BRTS, the General Manager of the company was

interviewed for a little above one hour, due to intermittent distractions from telephone calls

and workers who needed one form of assistance or the other from him. The interview was

done with the use of a flexible checklist or guide. This interview guide outlined the topics and

issues to be covered. However, the sequential arrangement of the questions was occasionally

ignored in order to follow the responses I received from the informant. According to Patton

(2002), by adopting such an approach, the comprehensiveness of the data is increased. Also,

the data collection is made somewhat systematic for each respondent and logical gaps in data

can be anticipated and closed. Lastly, the interviews remain fairly conversational and

situational. However, this approach is limited in that important and salient topics may be

inadvertently omitted. Also, interviewer flexibility in sequencing and wording questions can

result in substantially different responses from different perspectives, thus reducing the

comparability of responses (ibid).

The Deputy Managing Director of the company was also interviewed via telephone

due to time constraints. This approach was necessitated by the fact that even though the

responses from the first key informant was generally helpful, he was ignorant about some

specific facts about the pilot BRTS since he had not assumed office by then. The interview

with the Deputy went smoothly and most salient points were clarified for the study, even

though a face-to-face encounter, rather than a phone conversation, would have been ideal.

Owing to the huge financial costs involved in making telephone calls, this was the only

telephone interview I could arrange and it lasted for less than thirty minutes. Consequently,

the telephone interview was not as in-depth as I had wanted it to be.

On the other side of the coin, three MMT drivers who have been working on the

Kimbu to Adenta corridor before, during and after the pilot BRTS were accosted and

interviewed as well. The selection of these interviewees was based on the discretion of the

author, on the basis of the criteria mentioned above and with the use of the judgemental or

purposive sampling technique. While admitting that this sampling approach is seriously

flawed in that it is subjective and that ‘individuals may be selected on the basis of the sort of

responses they are likely to give, and the responses the interviewer is looking for’ (Kitchin &

Tate, 2000, p. 54), this exercise was meant to solicit information from the drivers who were

actually on the ground and implemented the service. The interviews were done in the MMT

buses as they waited at the main bus stations to be filled to capacity with passengers before

36

taking off. Even though this approach to data generation proved quite helpful, the

comprehensiveness or otherwise of each interview was a function of the time it took for the

buses to be full, an average of fifteen minutes.

In order to present the views of the end users of the now defunct pilot BRTS, three

passengers –a man and two women –who were on-board the MMT buses plying the Kimbu-

Adenta corridor and who had been using the bus service since 2005 when the pilot BRTS was

introduced were accosted and engaged in a focus group discussion with the question guide as

above. These passengers were among the first to board the buses and also met the above

criterion. They were interviewed until the buses were full to capacity and was about to depart,

a procedure which lasted for an average of fifteen minutes. The sampling technique for

selecting the participants and the associated weaknesses are the same as noted above.

For the purpose of this study, key players in charge of making and implementing

government transportation policies in Ghana were interviewed as well. These key informants

include: the Deputy Director (Planning and Development) at the Department of Urban Roads,

and a senior team member at the Urban Transport Project office, all of the Ministry of

Transportation (Roads). These informants provided useful and insightful details for the

study.

Lastly, a professor and expert in transportation geography at the University of Ghana

was also interviewed as a key informant for this study. This interview lasted for close to one

hour. These key informants, just like the management of the company, have special

knowledge on the given topic but according to Mikkelsen (2005), they are not necessarily the

‘leaders’ and readers must be aware that there is also the risk of being misled by the key

informants’ sometimes biased information.

3.4.3. Participant Observation

Participant observation was done simultaneously with the traffic congestion data collection

exercise. Also referred to as ethnography and field studies, participant observation involves

‘the researcher participating directly in the setting, if not also the activities, in order to collect

data in a systematic manner’ (Brewer, 2000, p. 6; cited in Silverman, 2006a, p. 69).

Providing a justification for this method of data generation, it is said that ‘all social

research is a form of participant observation, because we cannot study the social world

without being part of it’ (ibid).

37

With the use of a field notebook, pens, pencils and a photo camera, I acted as a

passenger on-board the Kimbu-Adenta bound MMT buses to observe at first hand, the nature

of service provided on this corridor. This method of data generation was meant to

identify where, when and why traffic congestion occurs on the said corridor and how it

negatively conspired, with other potential factors, to collapse the express transit system. This

also afforded me the opportunity to verify the data obtained from the key informants.

3.5. Secondary Sources of Data

Secondary sources of data can be seen as already existing data. According to Johnston et al.

(2000), this sort of data set is used for research projects other than that for which it was

originally collected. Data set such as censuses may be stored in computer data bases, on the

internet or housed in archives from where they are made available to other researchers. This

further use of the data, it is argued, ‘allows for both efficiency in data collection and the

conduct of comparative studies (across space and time) that otherwise will be impossible’

(ibid, p. 730.). The added advantage is that it enables the researcher to have a basis for

corroborating upon or filling in the gaps in existing knowledge. However, it may be difficult

for a researcher to adopt and adapt to some secondary data since they might either be

irrelevant or unsuitable to a particular topic of research interest.

Secondary sources of data for this study were obtained from books and journals, in

the libraries and on the internet, especially the Transportation Research Part C; official

reports such as census data from the Ghana Statistical Service data base and newsletters of

the Metro Mass Transit Limited.

3.6. Challenges Faced in this Study

This study had some challenges, particularly during the primary data generation.

First, since this study was conducted in a post pilot BRTS scenario, the travel time

data generated via the traffic congestion registration form may not represent the true account

of how the situation was during pilot BRTS era. This is because during the pilot BRTS

period, the ‘express’ buses were only supposed to stop at their designated terminals. Even

though the same fleet of buses and possibly the same drivers were used for generating the

data in this study, the current service is such that the drivers may stop at any point on the

corridor to pick up and/or allow passengers to disembark, in addition to stopping at their

38

designated terminals. This challenge obviously lengthens the total travel time. However, there

were instances when some drivers did not stop at the designated bus stops or elsewhere on the

corridor due to the fact that no passenger was embarking or disembarking.

Second, unlike the pilot BRTS which operated on the basis of ‘one-passenger-one-

seat’, there was serious overcrowding in the buses, especially during the evening peak hours

when passengers clamoured for any available space in the bus in order to get home. This was

the culture of stress I encountered during the whole month of making 120 uninterrupted

travels. Such stress affected my health and I had to seek the help of two research assistants

from the University of Ghana to share the load with. While this approach was of immense

help in the conduct of this study, it may compromise the quality or reliability of the final data

if something went wrong with the assistants’ generation of data. We usually held series of

peer reviews to assess each other’s work and to re-strategise as the work progressed. I also

made sure that they all complied with the same coding principle. For instance, they were to

ensure that the number of data entries corresponded exactly with the available space provided

on the traffic congestion registration form. Lastly, each one of them was given extra forms

that could be used in the event that an error occurred in the data entry. These checks and

balances, it is believed, will greatly reduce the level of errors in the data generation.

Finally, all of my key informants, with the exception of the Deputy Managing

Director of the Metro Mass Transit Limited, proved extremely useful and devoted much of

their time to being interviewed, thus, enhancing the quality of the data. This key informant

was one of the key architects of the pilot BRTS. Not only was he involved in the hatching of

the concept, but he was also actively involved in the implementation of the pilot project.

Obviously, the contributions of such an individual would have been invaluable to this study.

However, try as I did to meet him for a face-to-face in-depth interview, it could never

materialised on grounds that he was extremely busy. Realising that I had limited time, all I

could do was to have a brief interview on the cell phone during one weekend with him. Given

the fact that most of the information he gave only corroborated upon that which had already

been given by the General Manager and that there were no other top level individuals in the

managerial position to be interviewed further, the data could be said to be generally accurate,

informative and reliable as well.

39

3.7. Validity, Reliability and Limitations of this Study

All good scientific research work aims at producing knowledge which is not only valid but

reliable as well. This study is no exception to that ideal. Rudestam & Newton (1992) have

defined reliability to mean the ability of a measure to produce consistent results. Validity, on

the other hand, indicates that a measure in fact measures what it purports to measure. In

other words, validity ‘concerns the soundness, legitimacy and relevance of a research theory

and its investigation’ while reliability may refer to ‘the repeatability or consistency of a

finding’ (Kitchin & Tate, 2000, p. 34). These two themes of validity and reliability are of

much relevance to qualitative-based studies as they are for quantitative-based studies

(Silverman, 1993b; Kitchin & Tate, 2000).

According to Rudestam & Newton (1992, p.74), limitations may refer ‘to restrictions

in the study over which you have no control’. The note-worthy limitations for this study were

especially related to the data generation.

For instance, the use of the qualitative research instruments, i.e. the interviews and the

participation observation in this study, behoves on me as a researcher to be more reflexive.

Reflexivity requires an awareness of the researcher's contribution to the

construction of meanings throughout the research process, and an

acknowledgment of the impossibility of remaining ‘outside of’ one's subject

matter while conducting research. Reflexivity then, urges us ‘to explore the

ways in which a researcher's involvement with a particular study influences,

acts upon and informs such research (Nightingale & Cromby, 1999; p. 228

cited in Ryan, 2005, p. 3).

Expatiating further, it is said that:

the concepts of reflexivity may be a way of bringing qualitative methods to

account for themselves in a way that goes to satisfy the demands of scientific

method. This is generally a matter of questioning how the processes of

research and analysis have an effect on research outcomes. This whole process

of self-examination has become known as ‘reflexivity’ (May, 1998; cited in

Ryan (2005, p. 3)

Concerning the use of the key informant interviews, I am aware of the risk of being misled by

key informants’ sometimes biased information (Mikkelsen, 2005). My position as a

researcher and a student gives me some power but my power may not be equal to that of my

informants, who are qualified professionals. There is the tendency on the part of the

40

management of the bus company, for instance, to speak only the politically correct language

and to polish up their own mistakes while exaggerating on other information as to why the

pilot BRTS collapsed. This unequal power relation might affect the quality of data to be

derived from the interview. Dowling (2000) suggests the identification and efficient

negotiation of such power relations. Perhaps the use of the checklist in the interviews helped

to create the necessary rapport that enabled the best possible responses to be obtained in spite

of the unequal power relations.

As much as possible, the purpose of the research was explained in detail to the

informants and their informed consent was sought before commencing with the interviews.

All these procedures were deliberately followed to assure the respondents of utmost

confidentiality, and in some cases, anonymity where it was so desired. This was to ensure that

the respondents will, out of their own volition, provide the right and reliable kind of

information for this study.

The quality and trustworthiness of data from the participatory observation may also be

affected by my own subjectivity. This is because I am familiar with the phenomenon under

investigation and there is the likelihood of my inability to completely detach my personal

views, opinions and prejudices in my capacity as a researcher and user of public transport on

the congested corridors of Accra.

The travel time data were recorded using minutes as the unit of measure. However,

due to high speeds at some of the less congested segments of the Kimbu-Adenta highway, the

total journey duration (i.e. the difference between the times of departing from the origin of a

segment to its point of exit, marked by the bus stops) recorded zero. In order to avoid

discrepancies in the data caused by the division of travel time by zero, when speeds were

high, I substituted zero with 0.75. This means that any segment run that took less than a

minute to cover was estimated to have taken three quarters of a minute or fourty five seconds.

Lastly, Quiroga (2000, p. 291) suggests that even though GIS packages can be used to

provide estimates of distance, ‘it is clear that the accuracy of these estimates depends on the

accuracy of the underlying digital base map’. The GIS data, notably the road network of

Accra, that was used in composing the base map in this study can be said to be out of date

with very recent changes due to construction and/or upgrading of the road network. A case in

point which readers should be aware of is that during the era of the pilot BRTS, the bus

drivers had to go round the Tetteh Quarshie Roundabout (refer Figure 4.1). By the time of

conducting the field work, however, the Roundabout had been reconstructed to an

41

interchange whereby the drivers have to drive straight through without having to make the

detour. This means that the total journey duration for that particular segment alone has been

shortened than it used to be hitherto. The rest of the spatial data represent accurately the road

network in Accra. Also, very recent GIS or spatial data are either unavailable or expensive to

obtain; hence, the decision to use the existing GIS data anyway.

With the exception of these limitations faced in this study, majority of which have

been addressed and tackled, the data used in this study can be said to be of relatively high

validity and reliability.

3.8. Techniques for Data Analysis and Presentations of Findings

Using the appropriate analytic technique, the field data was analyzed both quantitatively and

qualitatively. Concerning the quantitative data, the ReadSoft DOCUMENTS software was

used to scan and digitally retrieve the travel times as recorded on the Traffic Congestion

Registration form. This was then corrected for errors and exported into the Statistical Package

for the Social Scientist (SPSS) 15.0 software for further analyses. Analyses done include

calculating the median, mean and cumulative travel times for each segment of the highway

used in the study. The SPSS was also used to compose a bar chart representing the median

segment speed for the various days of the week (see Figure 6.4). With the use of Microsoft

Office Excel 2007 software, the data are also presented in a tabular format. In order to present

the data in a thematic map form, which is said to be typical in traditional time travel studies

(Quiroga, 1998), the ARCGIS 9.3 software was used to prepare the base map, out of which

the corridor of interest was selected. Again, it was possible to import the median travel times

from the Excel format to enrich the geographic database out of which the colour coded

thematic maps, as used in this study, were composed (see Figures 6.1-6.3).

With regards to the qualitative data, the information generated from the in-depth

interviews, the focus group discussion and from my own observations is presented by the use

of quotations and transcriptions. As noted earlier on, the qualitative data is meant to assist me

provide an interpretation and meaning of the quantitative data.

42

CHAPTER FOUR: THE STUDY AREA

4.1. Location and Size

Located at 5°33' North and 0°13' West and bounded by the Gulf of Guinea in the south, the

University of Ghana in the north, Tema Township in the east and by Korlee Lagoon in the

west is Accra, Ghana’s largest administrative and economic capital. Out of what used to be

the three townships of James Town, Christianborg and Ussher Town in the 1870s and

covering an area of less than 10 km2 (Yankson & Grant, 2003), Accra’s current size has

grown considerably.

Accra is found in the Greater Accra Region, the smallest of the 10 administrative

regions of Ghana, in terms of area, occupying a total land surface of 3,245 square kilometres

or 1.4 % of the total land area of Ghana. The political administration of the region, as in all

other regions in Ghana, is through the local government system. According to Article 35 (d)

of the Constitution of Ghana, the state is obliged ‘to take appropriate measures to ensure

decentralisation in administrative and financial machinery of government and to give

opportunities to people to participate in decision-making at every level in national life and

government’. The Constitution further provides for a minimum of 5 per cent of national

revenues to be paid to district assemblies for development purposes. Other significant

legislation supporting decentralisation includes the Local Government Act of 1993 (which

creates the district level structures and defines their functions), and the District Assemblies

Common Fund, 1993 (which provides the parameters for sharing of the recycled revenues).

The principal local government unit is called the District, with these being separately defined

in relation to their population. Depending on population size, we have the metropolitan

assemblies (population above 250,000), municipal assemblies (population above 95,000), and

district assemblies covering rural and urban communities over wider geographical areas in

Ghana (IBIS Transport Consultants Ltd, 2005).

Therefore, in the greater Accra conurbation, all the three classes are represented.

These are the Accra Metropolitan Area (AMA), with a total land size of 200 square

kilometres and 57 % of the total population of the city; Tema Municipal Area (TMA) which

has 17 % of the total population and the Ga District Area (GDA) with 26 % of the city

population. The Ga District has recently been split in two, recognizing its population growth

as a result of overspill from the metropolis (ibid).

43

Of the administrative regions, AMA is the most completely urbanized and largely constitutes

the city of Accra. However, broader definitions of Accra also exist and by current Local

Government Act, the Greater Accra Region now constitutes AMA, TMA, Ga East, Ga West,

Dangme West and Dangme East districts. However, other recently constituted districts

including the Ashaiman, Ledzekuku-Krowor, Weija and Adenta municipalities respectively

have been added.12 Dangme East is the least populated with a little above 3 % of the

population of Accra.

Particular attention has been given to explaining these political administrative bodies

in the city of Accra for the reason that whereas the provision of the road infrastructure is

essentially the work of the central government, public transport regulation is the sole

responsibility of the districts within which a particular transport service is found. In relation

to the focus of this study, i.e. the former pilot BRTS, the road network that was selected for

the project is mostly found within the administrative domain of the AMA. However, it

stretches along the Ga district and the Adenta municipality respectively. See Figure 4.1

below.

12

http://www.ghanadistricts.com/region/?r=1&sa=21&PHPSESSID=d58fb86d0 Accessed on 31.08.2008

44

45

4.2. Topography and Climate

Accra is characterised by low physical relief as the Precambrian rock system that underlies

most of the nation has been worn down by erosion almost to a plain.13 There are several

gently undulating slopes rising to a height of less than approximately 23 metres above sea

level.

Given the fact that Ghana is located only a few degrees north of the equator, the

climate is tropical. The only seasonal changes are the two distinct wet and dry seasons.

According to the Meteorological Services Department, two main rainy seasons occur in the

whole coastal plain, where Accra is located, with the principal reaching its maximum in May

and June and the subsidiary in October. The average annual rainfall is about 730mm which

falls primarily during the two rainy seasons. Rain is rarely prolonged and the average

duration of rain is between 2 and 3 hours. Rain persisting for over 12 hours is very

uncommon. In the dry months, rain is likely to fall on less than 10 hours in a month and even

in the wet seasons, the average total duration of rain is only about 30 to 40 hours in a month.

Variations in intensity of rainfall are considerable and rates of 203 mm per hour may be

reached and even exceeded for short periods.14 Short but heavy downpours in Accra usually

give rise to local flooding where drainage channels are obstructed. At times, portions of road

network may be washed away, potholes may be created in the middle of roads, or rain eroded

sand may accumulate usually along the sides of the roads. On such days, the average travel

speeds are reduced, thereby, creating very severe traffic congestion.

Ghana’s warm and humid climate has an annual mean temperature between 26 and 29

°C. Variations in the principal elements of temperature, rainfall, and humidity that govern the

climate are influenced by the movement and interaction of the dry tropical continental air

mass, the dry, dusty harmattan, which blows from the northeast across the Sahara. The

harmattan season usually begins from November to late March or April.

In Accra, as in most parts of the country, there is very little variation in temperature

throughout the year. The mean monthly temperature ranges from 24.7° in August (the

13

http://www.visitandlearn.co.uk/LocationFactfiles/Ghana/Economy/tabid/383/Default.aspx Accessed on 31.08.2008. 14

http://www.meteo.gov.gh/climatology.html downloaded 31.08.2008. Accessed on 31.08.2008.

46

coolest) to 28° in March (the hottest) with annual average of 26.8°. Figure 4.2 presents an

illustration of the average weather condition (i.e. rain, average maximum daily temperature

and average minimum temperature) for Accra.15

Figure 4.2 Average Weather Conditions in Accra

When temperatures are high, especially in the afternoon, commercial drivers in particular find

it unbearable to queue gently in the slowly moving traffic. Some of them resort to driving on

the shoulders of the road for a while but their attempt to force their way back into the main

traffic flow further exacerbate the traffic congestion situation in the city.

15

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT000240 (BBC weather homepage).

downloaded 31.08.2008

47

4.3. Demographic characteristics of the Study Area

Demographic features, such as population size, density and growth, sex and age structure as

well as distribution, are considered as important parameters that must be taken into

consideration in transportation studies and analysis, especially on the effects of these factors

on the incidence of traffic congestion.

4.3.1. Population size and growth

Accra, Ghana’s capital since 1877 is reputed to be among the most populated and fast

growing Metropolis of Africa with an annual growth rate of 3.36 %. With the second largest

population after the Ashanti region, the Greater Accra regional share of the total population

of Ghana has progressively soared from a little above 7 % in 1960 to about 15.4 % in 2000.

Due largely to the rapid industrialisation and expansion in the manufacturing and

commercial sectors in some major areas within the metropolis in the period between 1960

and 1970, there was the influx of migrants into Accra, largely from the Eastern Region in

view its proximity to and cultural links with, the Greater Accra Region. Beside this, there was

also a large migration from the Volta, Central and Ashanti Regions respectively in that order,

resulting in high population growth rate between 1960-1970 intercensal years.

The reverse is observed in the 1970-1984 intercensal years, when due to the acute

stagnation of the Ghanaian economy during the 1970’s, the growth rate of Accra’s population

took a nosedive. Again, the decline in agriculture in the agrarian communities in Ghana;

industrialisation in the region, coupled with the late 1980s and 1990s boom in the service

sector, the migratory flow into Accra resumed. A summary of demographic statistics of

Accra is presented in tabular form below:

Table 4.1 Demographic Characteristics of Accra

Characteristics 1960 1970 1984 2000 2002**

Population 338,396 636,667 969,195 1,658,937 1,801,606

Growth rate - 6.32% 7.51% 4.3% 4.3%

Source: Computed from 1960, 1970, 1984 and 2000 Population and Housing Censuses. **indicates Projected16.

It must be acknowledged that the census population figures above do not show the daily

generation of people into Accra. It is estimated that the city accommodates between 2.5

16

http://www.ghanadistricts.com/region/?r=1&sa=21&PHPSESSID=d58fb86d0 downloaded 31.08.2008

48

million to 3 million people in terms of socio-economic activities aside the residential

dimension captured by the 2000 National Population Census.

4.3.2. Population density

The region has remained the most densely populated region in the country since 1960.

Population density has increased from 151.6 in 1960 to 895.5 in 2000. The intercensal growth

rate of 4.4 % between 1984 and 2000 is much in excess of the national average of 2.7 % per

annum and implies a doubling time of 16 years. This is, in part, a result of migratory

movements to the region. The densely populated nature of the region is brought into sharp

focus when it is compared with the other regions. Table 4.2 compares the Greater Accra

region with the country as a whole as well as with the Northern region, by far the largest in

terms of land area but the smallest in terms of population size.

Table 4.2. Comparative Characteristics of the Greater Accra Region

Area (Sq.km) Population Density Growth Rate(%)

Greater Accra 3.245 2,905,726 895.5 4.4

Northern Region 70.384 1,820,806 25.9 2.8

Total Country 238,533 18,912,079 79.3 2.7

Source: 2000 Population and Housing Census, GSS17

4.3.3. Age and Sex Structure

The region’s age structure is still a youthful one with the proportion of persons under 15

years varying from 31.6 % in AMA to about 42 % in Dangme East, while that of the aged (65

years and older) ranges from 3 % in the Ga District to a little above 8 % in Dangme East.

The male population has grown from 261,547 in 1960 to 1,436,135 in 2000. The

corresponding female figures are 230,270 in 1960 and 1,469,591 in 2000. During the period

1960-2000, the female population grew much faster than the male population. According to

official sources, the factors responsible for the excess females in 2000 may include male out-

migration, female in-migration and higher male mortality. The seemingly severe economic

conditions of the 1980s and 1990s might have compelled relatively more male emigration.18

The primacy of the Accra as an administrative, educational, industrial and commercial centre

17

http://www.statsghana.gov.gh/docfiles/Ghana%20in%20Figures.pdf. Accessed on 31.08.2008.

18

http://www.ghanadistricts.com/region/?r=1&sa=21&PHPSESSID=d58fb86d0 Accessed on 31.08.2008

49

in attracting people from all over Ghana, continues to be the major force for rapid population

growth, with migration contributing to over 35% of the population increase. Until quite

recently when Accra has seen marked improvements with regards to the expansion of the

existing road infrastructure as well the construction of new ones, the traffic congestion

situation was most severe. The need to cater for the travelling needs of the teeming

population was nowhere near the available infrastructure. With human and vehicle population

soaring while the road infrastructure remained virtually constant, traffic congestion results.

Again, the dense population, especially during Christmas holidays when more people come to

the city to shop, could spill into the roads, causing vehicular movement to grind to a halt.

50

CHAPTER FIVE: PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SERVICES AND

TRAFFIC CONGESTION IN ACCRA

5.1. Introduction

This author believes that the factors that led to the collapse of the express bus service on the

Kimbu-Adenta highway represent a microcosm of the overall factors that affect public

transport provision in general in Accra. As such, a discussion on the broader context within

which the pilot BRTS operated before its demise will be most ideal.

This chapter, therefore, takes a look at the public transport system as well as the

phenomenon of traffic congestion in the city of Accra. Sub-themes that will be considered

include an overview of the regulatory framework for public transport, the road network and

the types of public transport services provided in the city. Also, the incidence and the causes

of traffic congestion are discussed as well.

5.2. The Transport Sector

Generally, the Ghanaian transport system has been dominated by the road sector, even though

other modes such as air, rail, in-land water and marine are equally important. A recent survey

conducted by the National Road Safety Commission (2008) suggests that about 22 million

passengers are moved by road whilst a total of about 122 million tons of freight is moved per

annum19.

So important is this sector that the ministry of government responsible solely for the

planning, construction and maintenance of roads and highways of Ghana has been labelled

the ‘Ministry of Transportation’. To the outsider, this might create the impression that

transportation in the whole of Ghana is only about the road sector. The Ministry of

Transportation works through several Departments and Agencies.

These have been categorised as the Road Infrastructure Sub-Sector and may include

the Ghana Highway Authority (responsible for the administration, development and

maintenance of trunk roads and related facilities in the country); Department of Feeder Roads

(provision of access to rural communities and centres of socio-economic activities through

rural roads) and the Department of Urban Roads (responsible for administration, development

and maintenance of urban roads and related facilities).

19

http://nrsc.gov.gh/publications/doc/COMMERCIAL%20DRIVER%20STUDY.pdf. Accessed on 02.02.09.

51

The second group is the Road Transport Services and Safety Sub-Sector and may include

the Driver Vehicle and Licensing Authority (DVLA), the National Road Safety Commission

(NRSC) and the Metro Mass Transit Limited (MMT).

The last group is the Road Transport Training which includes the Government

Technical Training Centre (GTTC) and the Koforidua Training Center (KTC).

All these agencies and departments work together to ensure that Ghana becomes the

transport hub of West Africa20.Note again, the emphasis placed on road transport as the main

conduit for showcasing the country in the sub-region. It is therefore logical to conclude that

urban transport in Accra, the nation’s capital, ‘is synonymous with road transport’ (Addo,

2002, p.1).

5.3. The Road Network of Accra

Addo (2002) and Tamakloe (1993) are of the opinion that the road network in and around the

city of Accra is based on a system of radial routes converging on the Central Business

District. A major weakness in the network, as identified by these authors, is the lack of

adequate east-west corridors. It is said that the lack of a good road system causes a country’s

‘wheels of development [to be] mired in mud’ (Ellison 2002). As such, the relevant

government authority is undertaking infrastructural developments in the transport sector with

the hope that this identified weakness may be resolved in the near future. The Department of

Urban Roads notes for instance, that the designs for 106 km of arterial roads, 60 km of local

roads and 3 Interchanges have been completed for the Accra East corridor and the first 2.7

km of the proposed 15 km main arterial link to the west of Accra has been built already.21

Presently, however, there are only four radials, three of which are heavily used and

experience considerable traffic congestion. Following extensive studies on these arteries,

Segbefia (2000, cited in Addo, 2002) notes that flows of vehicles per minute ranged from 10

to 14 in morning peak hours and 8 to 12 in evening peak hours.

The road network of Accra, on the whole, is generally fairly extensive. According to

the Statistical and Analytical Report (2000-2006) issued by the Ministry of Transportation

20

http://www.mrt.gov.gh/pages.asp?page_Id=49&expandable=0 Downloaded on 02.02.09.

21

Status of Key On-going Programs (December 2007) http://www.mrt.gov.gh/userfiles//Document1.pdf. Accessed on 02.02.09.

52

and the Ghana Statistical Service, the Greater Accra Region has the highest road network size

of 5,123 km. The Ga District has the longest urban roads and sections of earth roads, about

2,070 km and 1,711 km respectively. Accra Metropolitan Area has the longest length of

asphaltic concrete roads, about 151 km. Earth roads constituted about 48 % of the network as

at the end of 2006. Compared with the national averages, the Ga District and Accra

Metropolitan Area have the highest share of the total national urban road network with 21%

and 19 % respectively followed by Tema with 12 %.

In addition to the above, Addo (2002) identifies what is considered as local roads

whose primary function is to provide access to residential areas. In his opinion, the structure

of the road network in Accra, as a whole, is however weakened by the haphazard location and

management of most terminal and transit points. Most often, residential areas are developed

without any consideration of public transport terminals. This unfortunate situation is a direct

consequence of lack of discipline and strict compliance with laid down planning principles. It

is not uncommon to identify terminals that are built either near streets or on privately owned

land, which inhibits the development of permanent structures. Hence, it is estimated that

whereas about 56 % of all terminals are between 1,000 and 3,000 square metres in size, only

5 % are of the size above 12,000 square metres. This unfortunate situation comes against

realisation that there is a positive correlation between the size of a terminal and the number of

vehicles handled within the hour (Addo, 2002; Oppong, 2000).

5.4. Evolution of Accra’s Present Urban Transport System

Within the above described environment, Accra’s present urban transport system has evolved

over the years from one that was characterised by a well planned and managed public

transport system that operated with big, comfortable, safe, regular and reliable buses, and

which enjoyed state monopoly, to the current transport system which is dominated by

individual operators.

The three state-owned bus companies that operated in Accra were the State Transport

Corporation (STC), Omnibus Services Authority (OSA) and City Express Service (CES).

However, it must be pointed out that the STC has no mandate to provide urban bus services.

Rather, it is responsible for providing inter-urban services, principally between regional

capitals, but also serving other large urban centres as well as cities in neighbouring countries.

OSA was constituted in 1969, under the then Ministry of Local Government, to provide

53

services previously provided by municipalities. In 1972 OSA was further empowered to

operate in any other areas prescribed by the then Commissioner for Local Government. Until

recently, OSA operated mainly country-wide urban-rural services.

CES was formed in 1981, as a special Department within the then Ministry of Transport and

Communications, following the delivery of 600 new Tata buses. They also operated urban-

rural services but, like OSA, made only a very small contribution to urban transport. Urban

mileage for CES in January 1992 was less than 10 % of total (Fouracre et al., 1994).

Against the backdrop of rising losses, overwhelming operating difficulties, and stiff

competition from the private sector, OSA had had to withdraw its services to the public.

Under Ghana’s Economic Recovery Programme (ERP) in the early eighties, the state

divested itself of its public investment in bus operations. The responsibility of running bus

services in cities like Accra was therefore relinquished to the private sector. This era marks

the genesis of the famous ‘trotros’ of Ghana which have become the mainstay of Ghana's

current public transport system.

Fouracre et al. (1994) argue that during this era, the growth in vehicle numbers

exceeded population growth over the same period. The majority of these vehicles (over 80 %

in 1991) are concentrated in the main urban centres. The high growth in vehicle numbers

between 1984 and 1991 seems to coincide with the ERP. Public transport accounts for just

over 80 % of total motorized trips in Accra. The majority of these trips are by trotros or

minibuses (48 %), with taxis and big buses carrying 23 and 11 % respectively (ibid).

Trotros are based on a range of vehicle types, but have commonality in their purpose

and mode of operation. In more recent times, the trotros have been augmented by purpose-

built mini-buses, due to the ban on their use for long distance journeys. Ofosu-Dorte (1992,

cited in Fouracre et al 1994) notes that due to a 1989 restriction imposed on all minibuses (up

to 23 seats) to limit their operations to routes of 50 km and below, an estimated 10,800

minibuses had been switched to urban operations. Also, saloon-cars are now used as shared

taxis. Taxis have a legal seating capacity of four passengers, while the trotros and minibus

seating capacity range in size from 12 to 30 seats. On basis of this, the available seats on offer

in Accra are about 720 per 10, 000 population. This would seem high, but must be offset

against a daily vehicle output which is probably quite low i.e. under 150 km (Fouracre et al.,

1994). All trotros, including mini-buses and shared taxis, are owned by the private sector.

There are no market entry limitations but a major hallmark of this sector is the presence of

very powerful and influential owner and driver unions.

54

According to the Ministry of Transportation and Ghana Statistical Service (2006),

there are currently twenty three identified public transport operators. These operators all

belong to one recognised umbrella union, called the Ghana Road Transport Co-ordinating

Council (GRTCC). However, the total number of operators, as mentioned above, could be

challenged. As observed in Table 5.1 below, only 22 operators are mentioned.

Table 5.1 GRTCC Membership

Number Name Acronym

1 INTERCITY STC COACHES COMPANY LIMITED STC

2 GHANA PRIVATE ROAD TRANSPORT UNION GPRTU

3 CONCERN TRANSPORT UNION CONCERN

4 ASSOCIATION OF LIBERAL TRANSPORT OPERATORS ALTOPS

5 GHANA NATIONAL CARGO TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION GNCTA

6 COMMERCIAL DRIVERS ASSOCIATION CDA

7 POSITIVE TRANSPORT UNION PTU

8 UNITY TRANSPORT UNION UNITY

9 EXPRESS DRIVE TRANSPORT AWOTWE

10 GHANA COACHES OWNERS ASSOCIATION GHACOA

11 GHANA CO-OPERATIVE TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION GCTA

12 GREAT IMPERIAL TRANSPORT IMPERIAL

13 GHANA HAULAGE TRANSPORT DRIVERS ASSOCIATION GHTDA

14 PROGRESSIVE TRANSPORT DRIVERS ASSOCIATION PROTOA

15 GHANA ROAD HAULAGE ASSOCIATION GRHA

16 PERGAH TRANSPORT SERVICE PERGAH

17 REDEEMER TRANSPORT SERVICE REDEEMER

18 LABOUR ENTERPRISE LET

19 KINGDOM TRANSPORT SERVICE KTS

20 TRANSCITY EXPRESS CITY EXPRESS

21 AGATE TRANSPORT SERVICE AGATE

22 MIGHTY TRANSPORT UNION MIGHTY

Source: Ministry of Transportation and Ghana Statistical Service (2006) Fouracre et al. (1994) contend that some of the unions have derived their power through the

patronage of earlier governments which encouraged their organization and development.

Their power is exerted through control of the terminals from which services are operated.

Without access to a terminal, independent operators have limited opportunities to generate

custom. Through their control of the terminals (which are referred to as lorry parks), the

unions have effective quantity control of the public transport sector and hence control of

service quality. From experience, passengers have learned that there is little prospect of

55

boarding a vehicle other than at the terminals which have thus become the main foci of

passenger demand. Since the financial rewards inherent in the control of lorry parks are high,

rivalries have developed between and even within unions. Monopoly access to its lorry parks

is jealously guarded by each union branch.

The ownership of all terminals rests with the Municipal Assemblies, who have firm

and unambiguous statutory powers to establish, maintain and control parks and terminal

facilities. However, management is assigned to the unions and the bus companies. Terminals

are usually shared by both taxis and minibuses. Each terminal consists of a number of parks.

According to a recent survey of one hundred and fifty-six minibus and taxi parks, spread over

33 terminals (95 % of the total in Accra) by TDP Consult, GPRTU, the largest of the unions,

administered 128 (82 %) while GCTA administered the rest.

Owing to the operational procedures of ‘queuing and holding’ at the terminals, unions

would rather compete for the terminals instead of the routes. According to this practise,

vehicles are ‘held’ at terminals and not released until they are full to capacity. This practice is

specified by the union constitution and violations of the queuing principle are a serious

offence, even though, a report released by the TDP Consult (cited in Fouracre et al, 1994)

suggests that some union officials use their privileged position to ‘jump’ the strict queuing

principle. Occasionally, some vehicles are also sent out empty, or as it is referred to in local

parlance, ‘waa-waa’, in order to service en-route passengers, but few drivers would volunteer

for this duty. This system ensures full loads for each driver, but relies for its success (to the

drivers) on the absence of competing groups.

Quite clearly, urban transport system is an urban issue and must be seen as an integral

part of the general urban planning and development. ‘Many cities throughout the world

organize their own transport policy and development, usually with a measure of supervision

by the relevant Urban Affairs Ministry, who control the budget. While this approach provides

the best hope for integrated urban planning, it depends critically for success on two

components: the creation of a professional cadre of urban transport planners (in both local

and central government administrations) which can command status and the availability of

staff that are qualified to establish and maintain the cadre. Neither of these two requirements

presently exists in Ghana, and is unlikely to exist for some time’ (Fouracre et al., 1994 p. 48).

Without any proper transport policy enforcement by the relevant government

authorities, the services of the private transport operators in Accra leave much to be desired.

For instance, Addo (2002) contends that the transport unions have not been able to regulate

56

effectively driver behaviour. As such, drivers and their aides could therefore be discourteous

to passengers and other road users knowing very well that severe sanctions are rarely applied

even when reports are made to the executive members of the unions. Again commercial

vehicle drivers even flout some of the Road Traffic Regulations such as driving on the

shoulders of the road to avoid the slow pace in the mainstream of traffic; stopping abruptly in

the middle of moving vehicular traffic to drop and pick passengers, and sometimes even

jumping red traffic light signals, probably due to the insufficient number of police personnel

in the city. Oppong (2000, cited in Addo, 2002) argues further that the absences of well

designed and properly located bus stops, as well as insufficient and inadequate terminals are

factors that also promote driver misconduct. The road network structure and orientation as

well as the disjointed location and distribution of terminals make it difficult for public

transport users to make uninterrupted journeys. Often, more than 80 % of public transport

users need to make two or more legs before getting to their final destinations (Oppong, 2000).

Consequently, many passengers are prepared to pay more for a better service by using

shared taxis which may charge two or three times the bus fare (Addo,2002) even though the

fact remains that the more than 30,000 taxis add very substantially to serious congestion and

pollution in Accra (Armstrong-Wright, 1989; Fouracre et al., 1994).

The Metro Mass Transit (MMT) has been added to the public transport services provided in

Accra in recent years.

5.5. Traffic Congestion in Accra

A recent urban transport study in major cities in Ghana conducted by the Dutch company

DHV Netherlands, with assistance from the Municipal Development Collaborative Limited of

Ghana, suggests that more than 70 % of major roads in Accra and Kumasi (the second largest

city) are congested with travel speed recording lower than 20 km/hr and it is likely to get

worse if current trends are maintained (Ghana Institution of Engineers (GhIE), 2008).

5.5.1. Causes of Traffic Congestion in Accra

Traffic congestion all over the world is a function of human activity. At a one-day conference

on ‘Traffic Congestion in Major Urban Cities in Ghana’ held at Accra on February 21, 2008

by the GhIE, seasoned engineers from all over the country took turns to address the problem

57

of traffic congestion. Some of their views, which I personally share, are presented and

discussed.

The first obvious cause of traffic congestion in Accra is the alarming rate at which

vehicles are growing in the capital city. As at 2004, a total number of 181,000 vehicles had

been registered in Accra. According to projections, this figure could rise above one million

by 2024 (ibid.) One may argue that the desire for car ownership is a reflection of people’s

improved standards of living. Under Ghana’s current Growth and Poverty Reduction

Strategy, the government’s thematic priorities include: macroeconomic stability; private

sector competitiveness; human resource development; and good governance and civic

responsibility. Sound macro-economic management along with high prices for gold and

cocoa helped sustain GDP real growth rate of 6.3 % in 2008 (CIA’s World Fact Book,

2009).22 In addition, with an expected boom to the Ghanaian economy from the oil industry

by 2010, people’s purchasing power is expected to improve, especially those in the middle

working class. Consequently, vehicular population might even exceed the projected figure for

Accra.

Some may counter argue, and rightly so, that in many countries, including Ghana’s

neighbour Nigeria, the discovery of oil has not always resulted in a general improvement in

people’s living standard except for the few elite in the society. This is referred to by Auty

(1993) as the ‘resource curse’ – the paradox that the local population do not benefit from the

oil wealth, but instead tend to have less economic growth and in addition suffer from the

environmental costs of harnessing the resource for the world market. However, by

strengthening Ghana’s democratic and accountability processes and thereby avoiding

corruption and governmental mismanagement of resources, it is expected that the benefits of

the discovered oil will improve the lot of the citizenry which will in turn reflect on their

vehicle ownership patterns.

The argument put forward by Olswewski & Turner (1993) explains the point which

has just been made regarding the relationship among economic well-being, vehicle ownership

and traffic congestion. According to them ‘economic growth and increased affluence leads to

a growth in vehicle ownership which in turn usually produces the unwelcome effects of urban

traffic congestion and major environmental problems’ ( ibid., p. 355). Although conceding

that the above assertion may be true, Dargay et al. (2007) are of the view that the relationship

between vehicle ownership and income levels is neither linear nor one-to-one. In fact, by 22

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gh.html#Econ. Accessed on 10.01.2009

58

pooling annual data over the period 1960-2002 from the USA, Germany, Japan and South

Korea, these authors suggest an S-shaped relationship. Vehicle ownership grows relatively

slowly at the lowest levels of per-capita income, then about twice as fast as income at middle-

income levels (from $3,000 to $10,000 per capita), and finally, about as fast at higher income

levels, before reaching its maximum level (‘saturation’) at the highest levels of income.

Against the back drop of vehicle increase, Accra suffers from inadequate road

infrastructure capacity, the second factor that is believed to account for traffic congestion in

the city. Addressing the said GhIE conference, Kwablah (2008) noted that most of the arterial

routes in the city have some missing links or in very poor condition, thereby increasing the

overall travel time on most of parts of the network. Also, ongoing road infrastructure

development to widen the existing road network, and the development of interchanges jointly

account for massive traffic congestion in the city.

Moreover, inefficient use of the existing road capacity has been identified as a third

and major contributory cause of traffic congestion (ibid). In this chapter, I have already

discussed the nature of Accra’s urban transport system. As such, that will not be the focus of

further discussion but one obvious characteristic of the system that needs to be mentioned

again is the over-reliance on the use of low carrying-capacity trotro vehicles. Available

figures indicate that in 2004, 1.3 million passengers commuted the Central Business District

of Accra on a daily basis. Out of this figure, 1 million used trotro or taxi. By 2024, an

estimated 3.04 million passenger trips/day will enter or leave the CBD (GhIE, 2008). While

majority of the trotros are old and badly maintained, their carrying capacities are between 12-

15 and 22-33 passengers. The legal carrying capacity for taxis is 4 passengers. According to

Kwablah (2008), whereas trotros and taxis carry 52 % and 9 % respectively of the travelling

public, they use 27 % and 18 % road space. Another mode of transport which carries few

people i.e. 13 % but uses maximum road space (33 %) is private cars. The rest of the statistics

are presented in Figures 5.1 and 5.2.

Figure 5.1 Percentages of Road

space Usage per Transport

Mode in Accra (Source: GhIE,

2008).

Legend

59

Figure 5. 2. Percentages of Passengers

Carried per Transport Mode in Accra.

(Source: GhIE, 2008).

The land use and traffic nexus as observed in Accra could also account for the endemic traffic

congestion in the city. Addo (2002) notes that the attainment of a vibrant and comfortable

city life is a function of land use, transport, cultural values and the imagination and

management skills of city officials. However, owing largely to the unplanned nature of

Ghanaian cities, of which Accra is no exception, coupled with weak local governance and an

urban economy which is primarily trading-oriented, the various land use types such as

residential, commercial, industrial, recreational, educational, sanitary etc are haphazardly

developed. The plates below, obtained from the GhIE (2008), illustrate some of the land use

and traffic patterns which either cause or perpetuate the incidence of traffic congestion in

Accra.

Plate 5.1 Transport terminal on road shoulder Plate 5.2 Commerce compete for space with vehicles

(Traders erect umbrellas to provide shade!)

Legend

60

The over-concentration of economic activities in Accra, especially at the Central Business

District is symptomatic of planning failure. Also, Tema’s failure as a twin city with no viable

central business and magnetic commercial centre has worsened traffic congestion in Accra

(Tackie, GhIE, 2008). The spontaneity with which passenger terminals develop and their

ubiquitous distribution in wrong locations also generate avoidable traffic.

As if these are not enough, road reservations are abused with impunity especially for

commercial activities by residents of Accra.

Plate 5.3 Blocking of the Walkway with Adverts. Plate 5.4. Driving on shoulder of road further

(Source: ibid.) compounds traffic congestion (Source: ibid.)

61

CHAPTER SIX: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

6.1. Introduction

This chapter presents the results from the fieldwork undertaken for the purpose of this study.

Discussions of the findings are also presented. An overview of the Metro Mass Transit

Limited, the operators of the former express service; the characteristics of the pilot BRTS,

traffic congestion on the Kimbu-Adenta highway as well as the other potential factors that

might have conspired to collapse the pilot BRTS are some of the key themes that will be

explored in this chapter.

6.2.1. The Metro Mass Transit: Brief History and Ownership

In order to salvage the situation and prevent further worsening of the afore mentioned

challenges to public transportation in the city, i.e. the domination of the Ghanaian public

transport scene by the single operator services, and the negative externalities such as traffic

congestion and the associated pollution, the current transport policy of the government of

Ghana has been to establish what is believed to be ‘an efficiently and modally

complementary and integrated transport network for the movement of people and goods at

least cost throughout the country’ (Kwakye & Fouracre, 1998, p.2). This is to enable the

country to achieve a middle-income status by the year 2020 and also to serve as the gateway

to the entire West African sub-region.

President Kufour advocated for the establishment of the Metro Mass Transit (MMT)

Bus system at his inauguration speech on January 7th, 2001. Expectedly, Ghanaians in

general, and those in Accra, in particular, heaved a sigh of relief when in October 2003, the

Metro Mass Transit or the ‘the Kufuor Bus’, as it came to be called, was established. The

Metro Mass Transit Limited, a joint venture between the Government of Ghana ( which owns

45 % shares through the assets of the now defunct Omnibus Services Authority) and private

investors (55 % ownership), which has a vision ‘to provide an efficient urban mass transport

system in Ghana through the use of buses’,23 was tasked with the operation of the bus service.

The private shareholders are National Investment Bank, State Insurance Company,

23

http://metromass.com/pub_trans_gh.htm. Retrieved on 14.02.2009

62

Agricultural Development Bank, Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT),

Ghana Oil (GOIL) and Prudential Bank limited.

The fleet of MMT buses were imported on a gradual basis from China, Holland, or

assembled locally. The Italian government also donated some buses to augment the Ghanaian

government’s laudable efforts. By the end of 2006, the total fleet had reached 677. See Table

6.1 below.

Table 6.1 Fleet Size and Passenger Capacity of MMT Buses

DESCRIP- SEATING CAPA-

STANDING CAPA- NUMBER TOTAL SEA- TOTAL STAN- TOTAL

TYPE TION CITY PER BUS CITY PER BUS OF TYPE TING CAPACITY

DING CAPACITY CAPACITY

YAXING SINGLE DECK BUS 35 65 310 10,850 20,150 31,000 YAXING DOUBLE DECK BUS 68 52 87 5,916 4,524 10,440

DAF PF BUS 63 73 4,599 - 4,599

DAF PE BUS 34 66 101 3,434 6,666 10,100

VD JONCKHEERE BUS 63 63 3,969 - 3,969

VDL NEOPLAN BUS 64 43 2,752 - 2,752

TOTALS 677 31,520 31,520 62,860

Source: Ministry of Transportation and Ghana Statistical Service (2006).

The total MMT staff strength as at the end of the same year stood at 2,536. Nearly half of this

work force i.e. about 45 % worked in Accra and its environs. The average driver to bus ratio

is 1:4. The MMT bus system operates three types of routes. These are: Intra-city, Intercity

and Long distance. Currently the most operated route is the intra-city, followed by the

intercity and long distance in that hierarchy (Ministry of Transportation and Ghana Statistical

Service, 2006).

6.2.2. The Metro Mass Transit: Services Provided

In an interview with Mr. Henk Visschers, the former Manager of Conexxion –the largest

Dutch public transport company –and now the Managing Director (M.D) of the MMT, he

pointed out that the company offers Intra-city services, by which he explained to mean

normal city bus operations that connect between central bus terminals with city outskirts

where people can board and alight at designated bus stops. This service is usually patronised

by commuters and market women that move in-between their homes and their various work

63

places. Yaxing, Iveco and VDL buses are the types of vehicles used for the intra-city

services.

He noted again that the company offers Rural-Urban services. Because of the long

journey, the rural service has a low but solid frequency. This service is meant to open up

villages in isolated districts for social and economical activities. An example is the Accra-Ho,

Accra-Assin Fossu route. The company has dedicated the DAF buses run the rural-urban bus

services.

The MMT limited also operates high frequency trips to short distances, such as

between Kimbu and Tema and between Kumasi and Obuasi or Kumasi and Sunyani

respectively. This is the shuttle services run by the company. Finally, the MMT offers

Intermediate and long distance services to link major cities like Accra and Kumasi, Accra

and Tamale etc.

As a bold attempt to solve perhaps one of the most common and disturbing of all the

problems of urban transportation, i.e. congestion, the MMT Limited introduced what they

referred to as the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) on a pilot basis in Accra, in September,

2005.

6.3. BRTS in Ghana: Characteristics

The introduction of the pilot BRTS in Accra by the Metro Mass Transit Limited was

characterised by a fast trip connection between the southern Kimbu station and Nkrumah

Circle with the northern suburbs of Legon, Madina and Adenta, with Tetteh Quarshie acting

as a central transport hub and change over point.

According to the Managing Director of the MMT, the routes selected for the pilot

BRTS comprised of three loops, two of which were small as well as bigger one. The first was

scheduled bus services plying from Adenta to Tetteh Quarshie; the second, from Tetteh-

Quarshie to Kimbu and finally, between Kimbu and Adenta. According to the operational

plan, a VDL bus was supposed to pass on these routes every 15 minutes. He affirmed that the

company had planned to add Tetteh Quarshie to La-Paz and Tetteh Quarshie to Circle

respectively to the sphere of operation of the pilot BRTS.

The extension of the pilot project was informed by the massive ridership enjoyed by

the Kimbu-Adenta pilot BRTS as exhibited by the astronomical rise in daily ticket sales to

about twenty thousand, according to the management of the service.

64

Explaining how the pilot BRTS actually operated, Mr. Ernest Asare, an MMT driver from

Adenta to Kimbu since 2003, and who had taken part in the pilot BRTS had this to say:

‘Initially we operated a system that ensured one leg of journey from Adenta to

Kimbu in Accra until the BRTS was introduced. Thus, the journeys were now

divided into two legs: from Adenta to Tetteh Quarshie and Tetteh Quarshie to

Kimbu in Accra. Passengers were charged an initial fare of one thousand

cedis only from Adenta to Tetteh Quarshie. They continued their journeys in

different buses from Tetteh Quarshie to Kimbu in Accra, also at another fare

of one thousand cedis’.

Mr. George Ahiati, another MMT driver who has been working since 2006 on the Adenta-

Kimbu corridor also recounted that due to the availability of buses, passengers never had to

wait for longer periods of time at Tetteh Quarshie before their second journey to Kimbu.

As to why these particular routes were selected, the managing director intimated that

cognisance was given to the characteristics of the road network and as well as the

infrastructure. This view was corroborated upon by the deputy managing director who

suggested, for instance, that the Tetteh Quarshie-Kimbu highway was quite big due to the fact

that most part of the highway had four lanes which allowed free flow of vehicular traffic.

Another driver of the bus company, Mr. Emmanuel Opoku who had been part of the pilot

BRTS operation, in an interview, also recollected that a reconnaissance survey was done on

the Adenta-Kimbu highway to gather data on bus ridership in addition to identifying bus

stops that received massive patronage from passengers. After these exercises had been

conducted, the BRTS was introduced on a pilot basis to the public.

Another major feature of the pilot BRTS was the use of bus conductors. Initially the

conductors, together with the drivers, formed the driving crew. However, during the second

phase of the project, the conductors were replaced with ticket booths made out of wood and

placed at certain designated bus stops (See Plate 6.1 below). The drivers of the pilot BRTS

were banned from hawking for prospective passengers en route or allowing passengers from

disembarking at other points besides the designated bus stops. These booths therefore served

as the main foci for all activities related to the pilot BRTS. For instance, they served as

venues where passengers could buy their tickets before the buses arrived. The conductors will

then deface the tickets after which the passengers will be allowed to board the buses. The

booths also served as bus terminals where drivers of the express service could take a breather

65

as they waited for passengers to board. From observation, but for the main terminal at Kimbu,

none of these booths had adequate shelter to protect passengers from the vagaries of the

weather or comfortable seating places for passengers to rest while waiting for the buses.

Plate 6.1. A passenger buying a bus ticket at an MMT ticket booth (Author’s field work, 2009)

Apart from the above mentioned characteristics, the pilot BRTS in Accra never had most of

the seven components as had been reviewed in the literature, especially an important

component as a dedicated ROW. The buses were made to compete for road space with other

users of the Kimbu-Adenta highway.

As to whether one could therefore conveniently classify the erstwhile express bus

service in Accra as a BRTS, the response is divisive. Whereas management of the bus

company strongly believe it was a BRTS or had a semblance of it, and even argue that in

developing countries such as Ghana, one could not possibly introduce a state-of-the-art

technology aggressively without implementing it in a simple and gradual manner, the public

transport regulators at the Ministry of Transportation think otherwise.

According Dr. Darku, the Deputy Director in-charge of Planning and Development at

the Department of Urban Roads, the Metro Mass Transit Limited, as one of the numerous

public transport providers has never been mandated to operate anything called a BRTS.

Ticket Booth

66

While conceding that the bus company had requested his outfit to mark some segments of the

Kimbu-Adenta highways as ‘Bus Only’ which they did, he was of the view that that exercise

alone was simply not enough. Without effective enforcement of the law by the police to

ensure strict compliance by other motorists, the MMT express buses did not have a dedicated

ROW which is one major component that characterises a BRTS, thus making the project a

failure right from the onset. He concluded that the mere act of putting a number of buses on a

corridor and calling it as a BRTS does not make it as such. His views were similar to those

expressed by a senior member of the Urban Transport Project office of the Department of

Urban Roads who pleaded anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the subject.

The differing opinions expressed above are an indication of the dichotomy that

usually prevail between policy makers, on the one hand and policy implementers on the

other. Be that as it may, readers are reminded of an assertion by the IEA (2002) that

communities can customise the building of a rapid transit system that meets their needs and

fits within their budget. They note further that the extent of dedicated infrastructure and the

level of sophistication of different systems vary considerably. Against this back drop, the

term ‘pilot’ as used by the company in describing their kind of BRTS is seen as most

appropriate.

6.4. Traffic Congestion on the Kimbu-Adenta Highway

As discussed previously, the entire road network of the city of Accra is congested. As such, it

is reasonable to anticipate traffic congestion on the Kimbu-Adenta highway on which the

pilot BRTS operated. However, the incidence of congestion on this corridor is not uniform.

Congestion varies with the time of the day, as well as the days in the week. This is a true

reflection of the variations in human activities during these noted times.

‘Average travel speeds’, as will be used in the ensuing paragraphs, actually represent

only the ‘median’ speed values that were obtained from the field survey. This is because

statisticians prefer this descriptive statistic over the ‘mean’ values in the measurement of

central tendency. As Quiroga and Bullock (1998, p.124) has suggested in the literature, ‘a

high median speed represents average traffic condition much better than a low harmonic

mean speed’. The mean traffic condition is added later on for comparative purposes only.

67

Again, readers must take note that the buffers created around the main highway in the

three colour-coded maps below are a reflection of severity of traffic congestion at each

segment of the road. A wider buffer represents very severe traffic congestion, and vice versa.

6.4.1 Traffic Congestion by Time of the Day

During the morning (i.e. 06:00 a.m. to 09:00 a.m.), traffic congestion, as measured by the

average travel times, is most conspicuous in the direction of the central business district at

Kimbu, in Accra from Adenta. These periods represent the morning peak hours when most

economic, social and other activities are directed towards the CBD.

According to Figure 6.1 below, an average speed of less than 10 km/hr was recorded

at segment 12 on the corridor. However, for the greater part of the corridor, speeds of in-

between 10 and 20 km/hr on the average were recorded. In spite of this generalisation, it can

be observed that as the buses move southwards from Adenta, congestion is most severe from

segment19 to 17. The congestion eases a little bit even though travel speeds are still low as

the buses traverse segments 16 and 15 but becomes severe again at segment 14. A similar

situation is found at segments 6 and 5. Also within this same average speed range, segments 2

and 1 are noted for severe traffic congestion as the buses are about to finish the journey.

When the buses reached segments 3, 11 and 13 on the corridor, they could travel at a rate of

between 20-30 km/hr. At segment 4, average speed rises to between 30 and 40 km/hr.

Segment 7 was the only point on the highway that recorded a relatively high average speed

value of 44 km/hr. This relatively high value is, however, below the posted speed limit of 50

km/hr for the entire corridor.

68

Figure 6.1 AM Peak Thematic Map

69

In the off-peak period, (i.e. 12:00-15:00 GMT) as represented in Figure 6.2 below,

movement of the buses in both directions, either from the CDB at Kimbu towards Adenta or

vice versa, was above the minimum average speed of 10 km/hr as was observed in the AM

Peak. This is perhaps the only major feature that differentiates the afternoon off peak travel

times from the peak travel times observed in the mornings. This is due to the fact that about

thirty-two percent of the segments had average speed values that ranged in-between 10 and

20 km/hr. This particular speed range begins with segment 15 all the way to 19 but as could

be observed from the varying sizes of the buffers around the road network, congestion is

more severe at segments 15 and 16 than it is for the rest of the journey northwards. A greater

part of the corridor, about fourty-two percent had speed values averaging from 20 to 30 km/hr

on the average. The severity of the congestion also varies. For instance, even though

segments 13 and 14 are within the same speed range, congestion is more severe at the former

than the latter. Also, four of the segments, representing twenty-one percent, had

comparatively higher speeds with an average of between 30 and 40 km/hr. However, only

segment 2 had an average speed value which was a little above 40 km/hr. Of course, this

value also falls below the posted speed limit.

70

Figure 6.2 Off Peak Thematic Map

71

Figure 6.3 PM Peak Thematic Map

72

In the late afternoon period, i.e. (15:00 – 18:00 GMT), human activities generally move from

the centre of town towards the peripheries. This period represents the afternoon peak. As

such, much traffic congestion is observed as the buses move northwards towards Adenta from

Kimbu. According to Figure 6.3 above, two segments i.e. 15 and 18 representing eleven

percent of the total corridor, had average speeds limits below 10 km/hr. Again, it can be

observed that congestion is more severe at segment 18 than at segment15. On fifty-eight

percent of the highway, the buses could travel at a rate of only 10 and 20 km/ hr on the

average. As can be observed, notable variations, for instance at segments 11 and 13 as

compared with segment 12 prove that the severity of congestion changes geo-spatially.

Again, average speeds of between 20 and 30 km/hr were possible on only twenty-six percent

of the corridor. Expectedly, only segment 10 had an average travel speed of 34 km/hr.

6.4.2 Traffic Congestion by Day of Week

Traffic congestion, as a dynamic phenomenon, did not show variations only with the time of

the day but with the various days of the week as well.

Figure 6.4 Traffic

Congestion by

Day of the Week.

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According to Figure 6.4 above, on a typical Monday morning, average speeds are at their

lowest, about 14 km/hr as the buses move towards the Kimbu direction from Adenta. During

the PM Peak, however, average speeds rise just a little close to 16 km/hr as the vehicles move

in the opposite direction. Comparatively, the median speeds during the off peak period, in

both directions, was around 24 km/hr.

On Tuesdays, the average travel speeds recorded for both AM and PM peaks are

slightly different from each other with values of 15 and 16 km/hr respectively. The Off-Peak

periods on Tuesdays, however, showed a minor drop in average travel speed to 23 km/hr

from the Monday figure obtained during that same period.

Average travel speeds obtained during the AM and PM Peaks on Wednesdays were a

little under 15 and 17km/hr respectively. These values are not so significantly different from

those obtained for the previous day. Also, the average Off-Peak travel speeds for Wednesday

maintained the same value as obtained for Tuesday.

On Thursday, the average travel speeds obtained for both AM and PM Peak periods

were almost similar. With speed values just a little close to 15 km/hr on the average, there

were no significant changes in the travel speed of the buses, whether they travelled towards

the CBD or towards Adenta. As in the two previous days, the average travel speeds during

the Off-Peak periods on Thursdays did not show any change.

Of all the days, Fridays stand out as the period on which the incidence of traffic

congestion is more pronounced during the PM Peak vis-a-vis the AM Peak hour. Whereas the

average travel speed dropped to a little below 15 km/hr during the PM Peak, the AM Peak

showed a rise to about 16km/hr. In the same vein, the Off-Peak average travel speed for

Friday (22 km/hr) was the slowest in comparison with the rest of the days in the week.

The data also suggest that of all the days, Monday stood out as the day with the lowest

average travel speed value during the AM Peak. On the other hand, Thursday and Friday

recorded the lowest average travel speed value during the PM Peak period.

In spite of the observed variations in the incidence of traffic congestion on the Kimbu-

Adenta highway, it is significant to note that none of the segments had average speed values

that was equal to or more than the official speed limit of 50 km/hr. Putting all the daily values

together, it was observed that before a bus could travel the entire Kimbu-Adenta highway,

which is just approximately 20 kilometres, it will require cumulative or total travel speeds of

87 minutes (or 1.45 hours); 86 minutes (or 1.43 hours) and 59 minutes (or 0.98 hours) for the

74

AM, PM and Off Peak periods respectively. For further studies, refer to Appendix 5

Congestion Scorecard on the Kimbu-Adenta Corridor.

6.4.3. Reasons for the Observed Traffic Congestion Pattern

The point has been made that the factors that cause traffic congestion at the study area are

just microcosm of the general situation that affect Accra in general. It is also important, at

this point, to note the multi-facet nature of the phenomenon. Hence, there is the need to

employ the General Systems and Structuration theories respectively to help illuminate the

issues (See Figure 2.3).

From the analysis of the traffic congestion data obtained from the Kimbu-Adenta

highway, it is reasonable to say that in most cases, the congestion phenomenon is one that

recurs almost during every time of the day and also during the weekdays. The congestion

situation might change for the better during weekends, notably Sundays, but certainly not for

Saturdays, even though this study could not obtain empirical data in support of this assertion.

The question then is: why has this highway gained such notoriety for serious traffic

congestion, especially during the weekdays, and on Saturdays? The obvious answer might be

that traffic is indeed a function of human activity. Human activities determine land use. As

said previously, land use –one of the three sub systems identified for the purpose of this study

– may be seen as the legal use of land, the type of structures and socioeconomic activities that

people engage in.

In Accra, as in most cities of the developing economies, it is not uncommon to

identify a situation where various land use types such as residential, commercial, industrial,

recreational and educational structures are localized in a particular region, especially at the

Central Business District, with the hope that the positive effects of such regionalization of

facilities will trickle down to the periphery. Sadly, the failure of such ‘trickle down’ policies

is obvious to all. Major formal and public institutions, such as the ministries of the state, the

Castle which acts as the seat of government, the parliament house, the supreme and high

court buildings, and other excellent banking facilities are all centralized at the hub of Accra.

Again, with the adoption of liberalization policies in recent years, the urban economy

has become primarily trading-oriented. It is therefore a common occurrence to see a

justaposition of both the informal and the formal economies in the centre of Accra. For

instance, the renowned Makola Market which has been the hotbed for commerce over the

years by women traders who sell fresh produce, manufactured and imported foods, clothes

75

etc. and which recently has been upgraded into a shopping mall, is located right in the middle

of town. Within some few distance away, one comes across the Kantamanto Market, also

located in central Accra, where traders deal mostly in imported second hand clothing, shoes

and household items. The Agbogbloshie Market, which is located near the Timber Market on

the Fadama Road, and the Kaneshie Market Complex are all cases in point to illustrate the

land use pattern in Accra that combines both elements of the formal and informal sector.

Most of these traders use the trotros, passenger mini-buses or taxis to fetch their goods to

these markets. Again, by reason of their central location, residents in Accra have few options

available other than to go to these places for their basic needs. Owing to their low occupancy,

the implication is that more of such transport means are needed to service the market women

and shoppers, therefore creating traffic congestion.

In contrast with the advanced countries where one could obtain all that one craves for

in his or her small town without having to travel to the capital city, the situation in Accra, and

perhaps in most cities of the developing countries, is different. The market complexes

mentioned above do not serve only residents of Accra but attract shoppers from other regions

in the country as well, especially during the Christmas holidays. These regions are usually the

Volta, Eastern and Central due to their proximity to Accra. Though empirical data as to the

exact number of holiday shoppers in Accra are difficult to obtain, it does not negate the

reality that many people do make such trips to the city. This could be the main reason for the

unusually heavy traffic congestion that is observed at the festive periods, especially at the

CBD and on most major roads of Accra.

It must be pointed out that along the Kimbu-Adenta highway, one can find the

Madina Market which is located next to the Zongo Junction pilot BRTS bus stop but its

relevance cannot be compared to the other market centers already mentioned since it is

mostly vibrant only on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Added to this, a new shopping mall has

been put up some few meters away from the HIPC Junction pilot BRTS bus stop (on segment

10) but its ability to attract the majority of shoppers and prevent them from travelling all the

way to the bigger shopping centers in Accra is unknown. As a direct consequences of these

factors, traffic congestion is most severe in the AM Peak hours when people have to frequent

the central business district of Kimbu and its environs in order to access these socio-

economic facilities.

The movement of people to Accra from the other regions does not only suggest the

primacy of the city to the Ghanaian regional economy but also, this could account for the

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observed heavy traffic situation during Monday mornings and Friday evenings, especially. It

is possible that people migrate to Accra to work at the beginning of the week and commute

back to their hometowns either before or during the weekends.

Another prominent center of attraction along the Kimbu-Adenta corridor is Ghana’s

premier and largest public university –the University of Ghana –which is located to the west

of the Legon pilot BRTS bus stop, (between segments 13 and 14). With vehicles belonging to

both staff and students of the university all joining or leaving the main corridor at various

times of the day, usually for academic purposes, in addition to commercial drivers who use

the university road to connect to Achimota and its environs, it was observed that traffic

congestion was most severe, especially during the AM Peak when thousands of students

come for lectures in the morning, as represented by an average travel speed of less than 10

km/hr for that portion of the road.

The situation is a bit different during the PM Peak, as seen in average travel speed in

the range of 10 and 20 km/hr. This could be accounted for by two main reasons. First, while

most lectures are scheduled to begin about the same time in the morning, thereby attracting

many students to the university campus, the times for finishing lectures are not the same.

Again, most students remain on campus after lectures in order to access library and internet

facilities or to do other academic exercises and may leave very late in the evening when the

‘rush hours’ are over. Other students may ‘perch’ or spend the night with their colleagues

who have on-campus accommodation, especially on days when lectures are scheduled late in

the evenings. Therefore, the number of students who enter the campus in the mornings might

not be the same as those who leave in the evenings.

The second important reason is the attitude of commercial drivers who avoid the

traffic congestion at segment 13 of the Kimbu-Adenta highway during the PM Peak hours.

Upon reaching Tetteh Quarshie (Shiashie) at segment 12, most commercial drivers depart

from the main corridor for local roads which goes through residential areas such as East

Legon, La Bawaleshie, and the Trinity Theological Seminary. They then join the main

Kimbu-Adenta Highway at IPS Junction, which is located some few meters away from the

Atomic Junction BRTS bus stop (i.e. on segment 15).

The poor development, location and management of passenger terminals and transit

points along the Kimbu-Adenta corridor constitute another land use practice that has either

created or perpetuated traffic congestion. These terminals defy planning and architectural

principles. They spring up spontaneously due to lack of discipline and strict compliance with

77

laid down planning principles as contained in the master development plan of Accra. Most

often, residential areas are developed without any consideration of public transport terminals.

It is not uncommon to identify terminals that are built either near streets or on privately

owned land, which inhibits the development of permanent structures (Addo, 2002). Usually,

it takes only one or two drivers to initiate such illegal acts. Within an overnight, others take

advantage of the situation and join. With the setting up of such ‘terminals’ and the attraction

of passengers, economic activities, usually informal trading such as food joints, mobile phone

business transactions locally referred to as space-to-space as well as other traders who hawk

all kinds of goods and services mushroom up. The situation then becomes the norm and the

law enforcement agencies find it too late to intervene. In addition to other undesirable

consequences of these illegal acts, severe but highly avoidable traffic congestion occurs. A

classical case in point is at the Zongo Junction on the Kimbu-Adenta highway (between

segments 15 and 16). The author’s personal observations are captured in plate 6.2 below.

Plate 6.2 Land Use practises at the Zongo Junction. Source: Field Survey, 2008.

Vehicles marked ‘A’ and ‘B’ are driving on the main corridor while ‘C’ is entering a lorry

terminal (out of view) which is located close to the main corridor. The area marked ‘D’

represents pedestrian walkway that had been invaded on by traders (with umbrellas for shade

A

B

C

D

E

F

78

against the sun) and advertisements and sign posts. This invasion of the walkway

consequently forces pedestrians into the main corridor which usually results in traffic

accidents or causes traffic congestion as drivers have to slow down to avoid knocking down

pedestrians. The vehicle marked ‘E’ is a trotro that has been parked on the shoulders of the

road for passengers to disembark and also to allow other passengers to embark until it is full

to capacity. As soon as that is achieved, and without warning, the driver of the trotro will

quickly force its way into the main corridor again, as represented by the taxi marked ‘F’. The

vehicles marked ‘A’ and ‘B’ which are on the main highway could either crush into vehicle

‘F’ , which is usually the case, or slow down and cope, thereby prolonging the travel times on

this segment of the road. A similar situation is observed at segment 5 i.e. from the License

Office to the 37 Military Hospital areas.

Closely linked the point expressed above on the spontaneous development of

terminals is the extent to which institutions, seen by the structuration theory as ‘the rules of

the game in society’ (North, 1993, p.3) undertake certain policies that may enable or

constrain human interactions and enforce the laws to ensure that sanity prevails.

In the early 1980’s, Ghana underwent series of structural adjustments aimed at

‘improving the competitiveness and efficiency of the economy’ (Ellis, 2000, p. 164). Among

other effects of these austere neoliberalistic policies, Anyemedu (2000, p.5) contends that an

estimated 73,000 workers were retrenched from 1987 onwards under the Civil Service

Reform Programme. Another 100,000 workers are estimated to have been retrenched from

the Ghana Cocoa Board from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. The situation has led to the

creation of an urban economy that is largely informal. The significance of the informal sector

–employing up to 60 % of the workforce and producing nearly 40 % of GDP in the

developing world–cannot be overemphasised (Schneider & Enste, 2000). It is argued that the

first law of the informal economy states that ‘opportunities to make money must be exploited

when and where they occur, regardless of whether officialdom approves’ (Stock 2004,

p.263).

From the author’s observation, hawking24 along the Kimbu-Adenta highway is such a

thriving business. These hawkers will quickly rush to any vehicle that stops or slows down in

order to sell their wares ranging from food, medicines, clothing, household items, just to

mention but a few. Beggars seeking alms were not an unusual sight on this corridor.

Moreover, some young men were observed washing the windows of vehicles that has stopped

24 The act of selling goods for a living. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Hawking. Accessed on 03.05.09

79

briefly in the middle of the road due to traffic light signage. Owing to the short time duration

at such joints, these roaming vehicle washers must hastily do whatever it takes in order to

serve as many customers as possible.

In an interview with the managing director of the MMT, he was of the view that these

hawkers only take advantage of the traffic congestion but they are not necessarily the root

cause. While acknowledging that there might be an iota of truth in this assertion, it was also

observed that moving vehicles had to slow down, stop abruptly, or swerve to avoid hitting

hawkers whose only focus was to eke out their daily bread.

The informal economy is ubiquitous along the highway but it is more pronounced as

one travels towards the central business district on segments 5 and 6 along the License Office

and 37 Military Hospital areas, and also along segments 1 and 2, i.e. the Ridge and Kimbu

environs. It therefore comes as no surprise when the average travel speeds recorded for these

areas were around 10 and 20 km/hr. From the foregoing discussions, one can safely conclude

that the informal economy impedes traffic flow in order to benefit from the traffic congestion.

Unfortunately, successive governments have learnt the hard lesson not to intervene or

regulate the informal economy or risk losing their votes and power. It is said that ‘African

governments are [often] more interested in survival rather than development’ (Kuada &

Chachah 1999, p. 30). A classical example is the decongestion exercise undertaken by the

Accra Metropolitan Assembly to rid the city of hawkers and to relocate them to a new

shopping mall. Weeks after successfully implementing the measures and receiving

widespread public approval, the authorities had to relax the laws and allow the hawkers back

on to the streets due to the political costs the government was likely to incur.

As illustrated by Plate 6.3 below, a hawker is busily selling food items to a customer

(under umbrella) at the HIPC Junction pilot BRTS bus terminal (between segment 10 and 11)

which incidentally is located some few meters away from the private residence of ex-

President Kufuor. This picture was taken while he was still the president and daily commuted

from his house to the Castle with armed police escorts! It is only a matter of time that a full

blown informal market springs up, if no official disapproval is registered.

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Plate 6.3 An informal economy along the Kimbu-Adenta Highway. Source: Field Survey, 2008.

Transport supply, i.e. the available infrastructures (such as road network, terminals, signage

and traffic management systems) has been identified as the second of the three sub-systems

that might account for the severe traffic congestion on the Kimbu-Adenta highway. Even

though the Ministry of Transportation and the Ghana Statistical Service maintain that the

Greater Accra Region has the highest road network, one may argue that the road

infrastructure capacity is woefully inadequate given the quantum of vehicular traffic that use

the existing space.

The three colour-coded thematic maps used in this study (Figures 6.1 –6.3) are

graphical representations of how average travel speeds on the various segments on the

Kimbu-Adenta corridor correspond with the nature of the road network. In most instances, it

was observed that average travel speeds were comparatively higher for those portions of the

network that had four lanes. For instance, during the AM Peak, average travel speeds ranging

from 30 to 50 km/hr were registered along segments 4 (from Flagstaff to the 37 Military

Hospital area); 7 and 8 (all the way from Opeibea to Airport II) and also at segment 11 (from

the HIPC Junction to Tetteh Quarshie). These segments have four lanes, thus facilitating free

vehicular flow. During the same period, however, average travels speeds around 10 and 20

km/hr are observed all the way from Tetteh Quarshie to Adenta. These segments have double

lanes. At segment 13 (between Okponglo and Legon), however, speeds are even below 10

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km/hr. This is due to the ongoing road expansion project that had begun from that particular

segment. During the PM Peak also, two segments i.e. 15 (from Atomic Junction to Zongo

Junction) and at 18 (from SDA to Barrier) recorded speed values that were less than 10 km/hr

on the average. At these segments, motorists could only drive in a single file manner.

Therefore, should any minor incident occur, traffic congestion easily builds up.

One would have thought that on portions of the road that had the four lanes, especially

from segment 2 to 11 (i.e. from Ridge all the way to Tetteh Quarshie), average speeds will be

comparatively higher but as the PM Peak thematic map in Figure 6.3 shows, they are mostly

up to 20 km/hr. This is due to the fact that the multiple lanes from Accra suddenly give way

to a double lane beyond this point so all the vehicles have to slow down and join the queue.

Not only is the width of the road network very narrow beyond this point but the roads are also

not maintained frequently resulting in pot-holes and eroded sand that usually pile up in the

road especially after torrential downpour.

As illustrated in Plate 6.4. below, vehicles moving from segments 16 to 17 (Zongo

Junction towards Riss Junction) have to slowly descend into the potholes in the middle of the

road or to bypass them. It was observed that some young men in the area occasionally filled

the pot holes with earth after which they collected monies from motorists. Although some

may argue that these good Samaritans are somehow ameliorating the situation for motorists

since the Ghana Highway Authority and the Department of Urban Roads are not doing their

job as they should. However, the activities of these men could cause or worsen traffic

congestion. Besides, it will take just another heavy downpour, which is usually the case, and

they are in business again. It must be pointed out that with the completion of the road

expansion projects, the situation might improve for the better and that again underscores the

importance of the institutional framework, as identified by the structuration theory, in

providing infrastructure that could either enable or constrain the free flow of vehicles on the

corridor in question.

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Plate 6.4 Road Infrastructure on the Kimbu-Adenta Highway. Source: Field Survey, 2008.

Signage and traffic management systems along the Kimbu-Adenta highway greatly impact on

the occurrence of traffic congestion. The calibration of the signage systems seem not to

commensurate with the flow and intensity of vehicular traffic. The traffic lights could stay

red for the road network with many vehicles while indicating green for other networks that

might not even have vehicles moving on them. This phenomenon most often than not compel

some motorists to jump the red lights, with its associated consequences. Other than that,

traffic congestion ensues. On other times, the signage systems break down due to frequent

power disruptions. It was observed that in instances where the law enforcement agencies,

such as the MTTU police and the specially-trained Community Protection personnel were

present at any of these faulty signage systems, motorists behaved well and there was free

flow of traffic, albeit at a slow pace. At intersections where the law enforcement agencies

were absent, which was usually the case for most parts of the corridor, the youth (some with

reflective vests and wielding tree leaves or branches) were observed directing traffic for

voluntary fee contributions from motorists. Not only is this risk-taking behaviour of these

otherwise good Samaritans the cause of many avoidable traffic accidents, which often

involve them and recalcitrant drivers who flout their orders, but the lawless situation could

degenerate into chaotic traffic congestion.

The summary of the foregoing discussion on the reasons for the observed traffic

congestion on the Kimbu-Adenta highway perfectly confirms the existing literature that

83

whereas demand varies over time, supply is relatively fixed over long time periods and output

is not storable, therefore the occurrence of congestion in all transportation facilities is

inevitable (Palma & Lindsey, 2002).

6.5. Factors that collapsed the Pilot BRTS in Accra

6.5.1. Traffic Congestion

As suggested by the data and from personal observation, the Kimbu-Adenta highway, like

most major corridors spread all over the capital city, is heavily congested. So endemic and

recurring is the phenomenon that motorists are not able to travel at speed levels which are

even close to the posted speed limit of 50 km/hr, regardless of the time of the day or the day

of the week.

Against this backdrop, it is reasonable to agree, to a large extent with the management

and drivers of the bus company whom I interviewed that traffic congestion was the bane of

the pilot BTRS. Management was of the view that in spite of the huge fleet of buses that was

designated for the project, even though the precise figure could not be obtained, traffic

congestion made it impossible to adhere to the policy of putting a VDL Bus on the corridor in

every 15 minute time interval.

Laying the blame squarely on traffic congestion, Managing Director of the MMT

explained that even though he was yet to make a serious financial analysis on the effect of

congestion on the operational costs of the Company, he could reasonably conclude that

congestion really had adverse effects on the operations of the pilot BRTS, leading to its

eventual collapse. Giving reasons to back him claim, he further argued:

‘when the buses are locked up on the corridor due to traffic congestion, they

waste a lot of time; burn fuel inefficiently without making revenue to keep

operations going. This affects both the operational and total costs involved in

keeping the buses functional while taking into consideration the effects of

depreciation on the finances of the Company. Besides, the Yaxing buses that

were primarily used for the pilot BRTS frequently developed technical faults

especially with the clutches due to the delays associated with traffic

congestion. Of course, this also exposes the weakness of the buses that were

used for the project but it would not have occurred in the first place if there

was no incidence of traffic congestion on that corridor’ (Field work, 2008).

84

Though the company did not officially revert from the express service to the current service

where drivers are now allowed to hawk for passengers along the highway and to wait at bus

stops until their buses were full before starting the journey, the managing director noted that

circumstances beyond their control i.e. traffic congestion forced them to gradually phase out

the express services. “Initially, a decision was taken to take some of the bus stops or ticket

booths out and place conductors in the buses instead. As some point in time, it was realised

that there was so much congestion that it became natural that there was no pilot BRTS”, he

concluded.

His views were corroborated upon by Mr. Emmanuel Opoku, who had actually driven

some of the pilot BRTS buses. He recounted that due to traffic congestion, there were

uncountable number of times when buses were held up in traffic while prospective

passengers queued at the transit points. His view was however challenged by another driver,

Mr. George Ahiati who saw the traffic congestion as a blessing in disguise for the project.

During congested periods of the day, he argued, most prospective passengers are stranded

due to the fact that most of the trotro and mini bus drivers used what he described as

‘shortcuts’ (i.e. local roads in residential areas) other than the main corridor. Owing to their

limited carrying capacity, the few trotros and minibuses that opt to remain on the main

corridor cannot accommodate extra passengers besides their maximum carrying capacity. As

such, these passengers will clamour for any available space in the express buses even if that

will demand that they stand in the buses for whole duration of the journey. On the contrary,

when there is no congestion, these same passengers prefer to board the trotros because of

their small sizes and the ability of their drivers to involve in all illegalities to beat the traffic

jam.

His opinion, however, cannot go uncontested. Two out of the three passengers who

took part in the focus group discussion noted how exciting the express service was initially

when everything was moving on smoothly but when later on it became difficult to get a

connecting bus on time and even when they finally did, there were instances when they had

had to stand in the vehicle all throughout the journey, it became unpleasant to use the pilot

BRTS buses anymore for their journeys.

6.5.2. Unhealthy Competition from Other Commercial Drivers

The introduction of the metro mass transit system in general, and specifically the concept of a

pilot BRTS came onto the Ghanaian public transport scene at a time when the transport

85

market has seen decades of dominance by the private sector. As mentioned previously, these

privately-owned transport operations came to fill in the vacuum left by the collapse of the

erstwhile state transport system. Following their successful organisation in powerful unions

and effectively controlling the quantity and quality of service, it is not unusual to expect the

private interest to view the new transport system as a threat to their survival. According to a

news item carried by the Ghana News Agency in its 29th October 2002 edition, the GPRTU,

which is by far the largest transport union in the country, is reported to have seen the

introduction of the metro mass transit system in Accra as a major challenge and had

accordingly advised vehicle operators, especially trotro and taxi drivers to exercise the

greatest restraint during their rounds.25

Beyond such verbal pleas, Addo (2002) and Oppong (2000) have identified gross

indiscipline among some commercial drivers who perceive themselves as being above the

law. The gross indiscipline on the roads of Accra and the sheer lack of respect for public

assets like the MMT vehicles which are perceived to belong to the ‘government’ and also as a

threat to the revenue base of the private commercial drivers, a lot of illegalities are resorted to

in order to outcompete the MMT buses for passengers. There is absolutely nothing wrong

with a healthy competition among these public transport providers. However, when it borders

on illegalities and animosities towards perceived rivals, it calls for concern.

Using the time geographic framework to conceptualise the above acrimony between

the commercial drivers vis-a-vis the pilot BRTS buses, as the express buses plied their time-

space prism from Kimbu to Adenta and vice versa, they encountered what Hägerstrand

(1970) refers to as coupling constraints in the sense that they needed to interact with, and

compete for potential path space with other commercial and private vehicles. As the

competition becomes unhealthier due to the rough tactics employed by the commercial

vehicles, for instance, the express buses became efficient in trading time for space, thereby

requiring more time per unit space in their movement, indicating a steeper slope or less

efficiency until such time that the path of the pilot BRTS buses became vertical or stationary

in space.

Recounting how such animosities contributed to the demise of the pilot BRTS, Mr.

Henk Visschers argued that by focusing all their attention on pedestrians with the hope of

getting passengers out of them, some of the commercial vehicle drivers deliberately slow

down in the middle of moving traffic, while their aides shout to attract the attention of

25

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/printnews.... Accessed on 12.01.2009

86

passengers who are then allowed to board the vehicles before speeding off. In the same vein,

these drivers adopt the same practice for passengers who wish to alight at any point on the

corridor instead of only at the approved bus stops. Added to the above, once they approach

traffic jams, they usually drive on the shoulders of the road for a while and then without

warning or regard for vehicles, they forcefully and quickly join the mainstream traffic flow.

Finally, when they get to the approved bus stops, they deliberately park in a manner that

leaves lots of space in front of them so that they can quickly set off again.

From observation, it appears that most commercial drivers are either totally ignorant

or wilfully disregard the Road Traffic Act of 2004 which has been replaced with the Road

Traffic (Amendment) Act 2008, Act 761 which states inter alia that ‘no vehicle may obstruct

the free movement of traffic on a road by parking, standing, loitering or in any other manner.

No person shall park a motor vehicle on a road abreast of another motor vehicle’. If

effectively enforced, as in for instance, the payment of huge fines for illegal driving, these

regulations would have allowed for free flow of vehicular traffic in Accra, in general, and

specifically on the Kimbu-Adenta corridor.

On the other hand, with the kinds of restrictions imposed on drivers of the pilot BRTS

buses, not only did some passengers perceive the bigger buses as not being innovative

enough as the minibuses are, but there were several instances when their vehicles were

crushed due to the recklessness attitude of the commercial vehicle drivers to enter the

mainstream traffic. When many of the buses are sent to the workshop for repairs due to

accidents, pressure is exerted on the few remaining vehicles which quickly developed wear

and tear. These regular maintenance of the buses involved in traffic accidents, and the

financial pressures put on the resources of the company served as capability constraints

which made the operation of the pilot BRTS uneconomical.

My personal observation on the Kimbu-Adenta highway also confirms the

above description of how commercial drivers could misbehave with impunity towards the

metro mass buses. During one morning rush hour, I saw some prospective passengers who

were waiting some few metres away from the MMT bus I was using to capture the traffic

situation on the corridor. A commercial driver who also might have seen the waiting

passengers ahead of us, quickly accelerated while approaching our vehicle from behind. He

sped around the bus, swerved back into the travel lane and screeched to a sudden halt. But for

the timely intervention of the elderly and skilful bus driver, something terrible might have

happened. To the chagrin of the commercial driver, the waiting passengers who saw all what

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happened, refused to board his vehicle but opted for the bigger bus instead. Such is the level

of acrimony between the trotros and the metro mass transport system in Accra.

In the focus group discussion, a man narrated how some of the commercial drivers

and their aides waged what may be described as psychological warfare against passengers

who used the pilot BRTS buses. According to him, verbal insults such as ‘One-One

Thousand’ (in apparent reference to the highly subsidised fare of one thousand cedis per ride)

‘misers’, ‘cheap side’ etc were heaped on patrons of the service without provocation from

some notorious trotro and taxi drivers whenever they walk past their vehicles to board the

express buses. In a country where subsidised items are perceived as inferior and of low

quality, one can only imagine the extent to which these unguarded statements might have

contributed to the dwindling ridership, and the subsequent collapse of the pilot BRTS in

Accra.

6.5.3. Lack of Supporting Legislative Instruments

In a study of urban public transport conditions in Accra, Ghana conducted by the IBIS

Transport Consultants Ltd (2005), it came to light that a number of legislative instruments

have been enacted for the operations of public transportation in the country. For instance,

under the Local Government Act (No.462 of 1993), urban passenger transport is under the

authority of the relevant Metropolitan, Municipal or District Assembly under which a

particular transport service is operated. For the greater Accra conurbation, these relevant

authorities include the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, the Tema Municipal Assembly, and the

Ga District Assembly. Each has jurisdiction within its own boundaries, but there is no formal

co-ordination between them or a higher-level authority to which they could defer.

Besides the above described governing regulatory framework, the operation of all

road vehicles in Ghana is governed by Omnibus Services Authority Decree (NLCD 337 of

1969) which was repealed and replaced by The Omnibus Services Decree (NRCD 71 of

1972); The Omnibus Services (Amendment) Decree (NRCD 181 of 1973); The Road Traffic

Regulations (LI 953 of 1974) and The Road Traffic Offences Regulations (LI 952 of 1974). In

more recent times, The Road Traffic Act of 2004 has been replaced with The Road Traffic

(Amendment) Act 2008, Act 761, which happens to be the most current. All these legislative

instruments respectively deal with the registration, licensing, use and construction of vehicles

in general (and of commercial vehicles in particular) and codify offences in these regards.

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However, none of these legislative instruments give a legal basis for the operation of

an exclusive right-of-way pilot BRTS. According Dr. Darku of the Department of Urban

Roads, in contrast with BRTS-implementing cities like Lagos, Curitiba, Bogota and Sao

Paolo where the existing roads were redesigned to accommodate buses with dedicated

infrastructure, adequate and spacious bus terminals as well as permitting minibuses to serve

as feeders for the main express service, his department was only tasked to mark some

segments of the Kimbu-Adenta highways as ‘Bus Only’. However, without recourse to any

legislative instrument, it meant that the traffic police cannot intervene to ensure strict

compliance of the ROW directive by other motorists. Therefore, it was only a matter of time

that the pilot BRTS collapsed.

Thus, without any authority constraints, as argued by the time-geographic framework,

to provide general rules or laws that will limit other potential motorists from having access to

the ‘Bus Only’ lanes, coupled with the lack of institutional framework, as argued by the

structuration theory, that will ensure that ‘the rules of the game in society’ (North, 1993, p.3)

are adhered to, the operation of a pilot BRTS by a quasi-private transport provider in Accra

surely suffered serious setbacks, leading to its demise.

6.5.4. Bad Attitudes of Driving Crew and Maladministration of the Service

The poor attitudinal behaviour of some staff of the MMT towards their work also contributed

to the collapse of the pilot BRTS. In an interview with the management of the company, they

lamented on how some of the drivers did not drive fuel-efficient enough, caused too many

avoidable accidents and were generally apathetic towards the success or otherwise of the

express service. These ill-practises affected the finances of the service. Coupled with the

above, revenue thefts was not uncommon even though these malpractices are not exclusive

only to the former pilot BRTS but to all other services being currently operated by the bus

company. According to the newsletter Metro Mass Weekly,26 in just a week of assuming

office, the managing director reportedly signed the summary dismissal letters of more than 75

workers due to theft of funds.

Perhaps, realising how this illegal act contributed to the collapse of the pilot BRTS

and how it might collapse other current services being operated, the MD and his management

team have mapped out a number of measures to curb the menace of stealing in the company.

26

http://www.metromass.com/newsletter2.pdf Downloaded on 24 March, 2009.

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Of particular interest is the creation of an Inspection Unit of the Internal Audit Department to

check not only bus drivers and conductors but to also check commuters who attempt to cheat

the company. On several occasions, such random checks were observed in the buses.

However, the effectiveness of this mechanism is yet to be known as some of the bus drivers

and their conductors were also seen signalling to their colleagues coming from the opposite

direction as to the location of the few inspection team, perhaps to cover up their illegalities

before the inspectors got on-board.

Again, some of the drivers were generally discourteous towards the passengers.

Others were also not willing to assist passengers, mostly market women to offload their

goods from the buses on the excuse that they are only paid to drive and such ‘extra’ duties

were to be done solely by the conductors. However, most of the conductors were young

women.

In the same vein, one of my informants, a driver of the bus company who took part in

the pilot project also noticed that administrative lapses could be blame for the demise of the

express service. He was of the view that avoidable delays at the company’s Head Office with

regards to the issuance of tickets occasionally stifled the smooth conduct of business. He

further argued that the monitoring and supervision of the service were inadequate. There were

few or no on-the-spot monitoring of the operations of the BRTS by the field supervisors.

Once that occurs, it was only a matter of time that employees acted in a way that was

detrimental to the success of the pilot BRTS, specifically and to other general services

provided by the company. He was quick to add also that some of the drivers and conductors

too habitually reported late for their duties.

6.5.5 Inadequate Publicity about the Service

According to Mr. Martin Afram, the deputy managing director of the bus company, a public

launch was done to outdoor and also advertise the pilot BRTS to the people of Accra. Besides

this, no major advertisements were done in the print and electronic media. It is therefore

reasonable to expect that most passengers were oblivious as to what that particular service

was all about, their rights and responsibilities as passengers as well as other operational

characteristics such as the arrival and departure times of the pilot BRTS buses and the

approved bus terminals. The people who bore the brunt of the passengers’ frustration at the

system were usually the driving crew comprising the drivers and the conductors.

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All the three drivers who took part in the interview unanimously recounted their horrible tales

and those of their counterparts who had been verbally and occasionally physically abused and

had unprintable profanities hurled at them when they had enforced the strict policy of not

allowing passengers to disembark at any other point on the corridor but the few selected pilot

BRTS terminals. They further argued that there were several instances where they had had to

by-pass my waiting passengers due to the fact that they stood at the ‘wrong’ place. Some of

the drivers even opted to allow passengers to board so that they could pay later to the

conductors when the buses reached the ticket booths but this practise was disallowed due to

allegations of theft of funds by some their colleague drivers. These unfortunate incidents,

according to them, adversely affected the revenue that could have been made.

Even though the conflict of interest discussed above borders on the lack of relevant

knowledge among the travelling public, some people may hold the opinion that the average

Ghanaian traveller is so used to the trotro culture of boarding and disembarking at his or her

doorstep regardless of the inconvenience it causes other road users, to the extent that no

amount of education could ensure a successful implementation of a BRTS. However, a

professor and expert in transportation geography at the University of Ghana, Samuel Tetteh

Addo holds a contrary opinion. Just like the opinions expressed above, he believes that

inadequate publicity and education could also account for the failure of the pilot BRTS.

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CHAPTER SEVEN: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

7.1. Introduction

This chapter wraps up the study by summarising the various findings and conclusions drawn

for the purpose of this research. Again, recommendations regarding how to forestall the

reoccurrence of the factors that collapsed the pilot BRTS specifically, and by extension, how

to improve upon the overall performance of public transport provision in Accra, are

presented. Some general reflections and suggestions for further research follow.

7.2. Summary and Conclusion

With the use of the former pilot Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) on the Kimbu-Adenta

Highway as a case study, this research sought to identify the causes of traffic congestion on

the said corridor; to explore the extent to which traffic congestion was the nemesis of the

pilot project, as well as identifying other possible factors that might have jointly contributed

to collapse the express service. Information obtained from a review of current literature on

the subject, the Time-Geographic framework as well as the Structuration and General

Systems theories respectively were used as keys to unlock and interpret the study.

Concerning the methodology, both primary and secondary sources of generating data

were used. In relation to the primary data, the triangulation approach (i.e. quantitative and

qualitative methods) was adopted even though maximum weight was given to former over

the latter. GIS-based techniques such as the GPS, the stopwatch and a computer readable

traffic congestion registration form were the main tools used in deriving the quantitative data.

The research tools used in generating the qualitative data were: in-depth interviews with five

key informants; semi-structured interviews with three MMT drivers; a focus group discussion

with three MMT passengers and personal observation. Secondary sources of data were

obtained from books and journals, in the libraries and on the internet, census data and

newsletters of the MMT. The study also explored some characteristics of the study area and

the general nature of traffic congestion and public transport delivery in the city of Accra.

With regards to the initial research questions formulated for the study, the following

questions and observations were made:

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7.2.1. What are the factors that culminate in the occurrence of traffic congestion on the

BRTS corridor?

The study revealed that the Kimbu-Adenta highway on which the pilot BRTS operated is

heavily congested from vehicular traffic albeit with variations with regards to the particular

time of the day, the day of the week, as well as the segments of the road. These variations

correspond with human activities that vary spatio-temporally.

The first factor that culminates in the occurrence of traffic congestion on the said

corridor is the haphazard manner with which various land use types such as residential,

commercial, industrial, recreational and educational are developed and managed. The study

revealed that the CBD is the main hub of all socio-economic activities in Accra ranging from

business and commerce, public administration to education. It therefore comes as no surprise

to realize that traffic congestion is most severe towards Kimbu in the CBD of Accra during

the morning rush hours and towards Adenta during the evening rush hours.

Beside the above mentioned point, land use practices such as siting terminals and

transit points without due regard for planning principles could be blamed for the incidence of

traffic congestion at the study area. It came to light that terminals are built close to the main

corridor. Examples were found at the Zongo Junction and the License Office terminals on the

Kimbu-Adenta highway.

Coupled with the above, the informal economy as represented by the drove of

hawkers and other physically challenged individuals who beg for alms impede vehicular

traffic flow with their commercial activities thereby causing and benefiting as well from the

ensuing traffic congestion on the highway.

Moreover, the existing transport infrastructures (e.g. road network, terminals, signage

and traffic management systems) have been identified as a factor that causes traffic

congestion on the Kimbu-Adenta highway. Not only is the road infrastructure capacity, as it

exists now, woefully inadequate given the quantum of vehicular traffic that uses the road

capacity but they are seldom maintained leading to the development of pot-holes and rain-

eroded earth in the road. Closely tied to this point is the calibration of the signage systems

which was observed as not being proportional to the flow and intensity of vehicular traffic.

They frequently become dysfunctional due to frequent power disruptions. Again, the youth

who sometimes direct traffic flow when the signage systems break down and there are no law

enforcement agencies around, could degenerate into chaotic traffic congestion.

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7.2.2. To what extent did traffic congestion affect the operations of the pilot BRTS?

The study did indeed reveal that the recurring nature of the traffic congestion on the Kimbu-

Adenta highway was the bane of the pilot BRTS. It is almost next to impossible to expect

motorists to travel at average speed levels which are even close to the posted speed limit of

50 km/hr regardless of the time in the day or the day in the week except on Sundays for the

obvious reason that most Ghanaians are off the road for church and other social activities

which do not necessarily require excessive driving. Traffic congestion made it impossible to

adhere to the policy of putting a VDL Bus on the corridor in every 15 minute time interval. It

was also observed that when the buses are help up in traffic, they waste a lot of productive

man hours; burn fuel inefficiently and causes the buses to develop wear and tear easily.

7.2.3. Are there other factors that jointly contributed to the collapse of the pilot BRTS

project in Accra?

Besides traffic congestion, the study identified other factors which adversely worked against

the pilot project on the said corridor. The first of such factors is the unhealthy competition

that existed between the operators of the express service and private commercial drivers in

Accra. Rather than seeing each other as playing complementary roles in ensuring efficiency

in the provision of transportation services to the public, there was a severe conflict of interest

between the quasi-public and the private operators. The study identified acts of gross

indiscipline, psychological warfare and illegalities embarked upon by the latter to out-

compete the former.

Coupled with the above, the lack of any legislative instrument to give a legal basis for

the operation of an exclusive right-of-way express bus service means that the operation of the

pilot BRTS by the MMT existed only in name but not in reality.

Moreover, internal human factors such as apathy on the part of drivers towards driving fuel-

efficiently, reckless driving and the consequent involvement in accidents, lateness to report

for duty, poor interpersonal skills towards passengers, theft of revenue by the driving crew as

well as administrative lapses could be blamed for contributing to the demise of the pilot

BRTS in Accra.

Finally, it came to light that apart from the public launch of the project, the operators

of the service did not undertake any major publicity or advertisements in the media to

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adequately inform and educate the travelling public about the existence and the operational

characteristics of the pilot BRTS.

The theoretical frameworks employed in the study have proven quite effective in helping

throw much light on the factors that, in addition to traffic congestion, led to the collapse of

the pilot BRTS in Accra.

With the help of the General Systems theory, for instance, it was identified that two

basic sub-systems within the wider urban environment i.e. land use and transport supply were

largely to blame for the recurring nature of traffic congestion and its subsequent adverse

effects on the pilot BRTS in Accra. As a clear symptom of planning failure in the city, there

is overconcentration of various land use types and socioeconomic activities at the central hub

of the city. Again, bus terminals are constructed without due recognition of the laid down

urban planning and architectural blueprint for the city. Major lapses were also identified in

the supply of transport infrastructures (such as road network, terminals, signage, and traffic

management systems). The failure of the two sub-systems directly affected the third i.e.

traffic flow in the city of Accra.

The Structuration theory also shed light on the extent to which the existing

institutional framework did enable or constrained the functioning of the express bus project in

Accra. The provision and maintenance of road infrastructure is the preserve of the central

government. However, until quite recently, budgetary constraints had limited the amount of

investment government could make into the roads sector. With limited infrastructure vis-a-vis

a growing vehicle population, traffic congestion is inevitable. Therefore, operating an express

bus service like a BRTS on the existing network was such an uphill task. The lack of political

will to deal with the informal economy in a way that could ensure free flow of vehicular

traffic was also identified as a major weakness of the institutional framework of the country.

Traffic law enforcement by the relevant state institutions such as the MTTU and the

Community Protection is also constrained by limited personnel and inadequate logistical

support to deal with motorists’ misconducts.

The Time Geographic framework also conceptualised the level conflict of interest that

existed between some commercial drivers and the pilot BRTS bus drivers and the extent to

which this unfortunate situation served as coupling and capability constraints that eventually

led to the collapse of the express bus pilot project in Accra. However, two of the factors that

conspired to collapse the former pilot BRTS i.e. misconducts of MMT driving crew,

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maladministration of the express service and the inadequate publicity are all extra

information which is unaccounted for by the theories employed in the study.

7.3. Recommendations

On the basis of the findings that came out of this study, the recommendations below are

aimed at policy makers and future researchers not only to address the challenges that usually

beset public transport provision in cities of the developing world in general but also to create

a congenial environment for a successful implementation of a BRTS in Accra.

7.3.1 Traffic Congestion

The findings from this study suggest that of all the factors that worked against the pilot BRTS

project, traffic congestion is most outstanding. It is therefore imperative to address the several

bottlenecks that culminate in the occurrence of traffic congestion, especially the recurring

type, in order to ensure that public transport service provision is enhanced.

First and foremost, there is the urgent need to improve upon the road infrastructure so

as to increase the capacity of the network to accommodate the soaring fleet of vehicles in the

city. I say so in view of the reality that the existing network capacity is woefully inadequate.

On this note, the recent upgrading of some major highways in Accra, and especially from the

Tetteh Quarshie area through Adenta and beyond, is most commendable. A major weakness

on the highways was usually observed at the junctions, due to the break down or absence of

traffic signage to ensure smooth transition by vehicles that need to join or depart from the

main corridors onto the arterial roads. It is expected that the reconstruction of the highways

will address some of these bottlenecks. Flyovers, for instance, can be constructed at points of

road intersections on major arteries to avoid traffic interference. Priority attention must be

given to Legon (segment 13); Atomic Junction, Zongo Junction, Riss Junction (segments 15-

16) and Barrier (segment 18) for the construction of flyovers to mitigate traffic interference

from drivers who are either departing from, or joining the main Kimbu-Adenta Highway.

Proper traffic management must be put in place to ensure that the traffic light system, for

example, is calibrated to suite the corridor with the heaviest traffic flow (Addo, 2008, field

interview).

However, the expansion of the road capacity should be seen only as a short term solution.

This is because, academic research and practical experience have demonstrated that increases

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in highway capacity usually lead to increases in vehicle travel – reducing, or in some cases

negating, the congestion-fighting benefits of the projects – a phenomenon known as

‘generated traffic’. It is therefore reasonable to expect that with the completion of the road

expansion on the Tetteh Quarshie –Adenta highway, motorists from Adenta, Madina and the

rest who hitherto were driving through the University of Ghana campus to connect to

Achimota, Abeka, La-Paz, Mallam etc would now find it more convenient to use the highway

instead, resulting in the occurrence of traffic congestion in the long run.

Similar instances of ‘generated traffic’ occurred in the U.S. Evidence from Portland-

Vancouver, which saw the greatest expansion of highway capacity and vehicle travel in the

state, also experienced the greatest degree of congestion growth. Again, a 2000 review of 26

years of transportation data determined that one-third of all new road capacity in the

Baltimore/Washington, D.C. area has been used up by new travel that would not have

occurred without highway expansion. Other studies from across the country (U.S.) show even

greater effects from ‘induced travel’ (Dutzik & Pregulman, 2003).

In the long run, policy makers are advised to visit the issue of congestion pricing. The

idea of congestion pricing usually involves the use of an electronically-collected toll system

to charge drivers more to use the most congested roads at the most congested times but prices

can be cheaper at off-peak times. For busy highway corridors, congestion pricing can be used

to maintain the free flow of traffic. Cities around the world are beginning to use congestion

pricing systems to cut traffic in their urban centers and along heavily-used corridors and as a

means to financially support public transportation.27

Singapore was one of the first large cities to adopt congestion pricing, starting in 1975

with a flat-rate S$3 charge to enter the central business district during morning rush hours.

Other charges and a second cordon area were added later. In 2003, London began charging a

premium to drive into the city's congested business district, where traffic gridlock threatened

the city's economic competitiveness and quality of life. A remarkable thing happened.

Congestion quickly dropped, and average traffic speed increased. Emissions of the most

dangerous air pollutants and greenhouse gases have dropped. London raised hundreds of

millions of dollars in new revenue, which it invested in better transit such as new buses,

delivering immediate benefits to affected commuters. Bus ridership rose dramatically, and

use of bicycles also increased. Initial public skepticism has turned into support, and London's

Mayor Ken Livingston enjoyed popular re-election after adopting the charge.

27

http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=6241 Accessed on 05.04.2009

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Norway has put charging systems into practice in several cities, including Oslo, Bergen and

Trondheim. Their systems yielded traffic reductions of about six to ten percent. Initial

revenues tended to be invested in new roads, but Trondheim also used the money raised for

projects such as bicycle paths and a fleet of free bicycles for public use. All three cities use

electronic transponders with manual payment mechanisms as an alternative. Oslo is

considering a plan for a major expansion of their system (ibid).

Stockholm initiated a trial period of cordon pricing for its central city for the first half

of 2006. According to Luciani (2006), traffic passing over the city’s cordon dropped 22 %,

traffic accidents causing injuries fell 5 % to 10 %, and carbon dioxide levels fell 14 % in the

inner city. Since Stockholm is a city made up of many small islands and bridges, it was prone

to traffic snarls and gridlock. Despite this, by the end of the trial period, which went from

January to July, the time it took to drive home during peak hours decreased by a third. In the

process, all forms of public transit rose 6 %, even bike ridership increased.

One could argue that in the economically advanced societies where the

implementation of congestion pricing has been successful, majority of the people are not only

rich but they are enlightened well enough to appreciate the positive benefits of such

initiatives. Even so, some people could see this practise as a human right issue and

discriminatory against the poor who might not be able to pay to enter the cordoned areas in

their private vehicles, especially in countries where the public transit system is also virtually

non-existent. It could also have political implications and politicians would not readily accept

proposals that might cause them to lose votes. The fact that New York City came very close

to getting a congestion pricing plan in spring 2008 but was given cold feet by the state

legislature despite City Council approval (Environmental Defense Fund, 2009) may provide

ample evidence as to the controversy that congestion pricing initiative could generate.

From the foregoing discussion, is it imperative that cities in the economically less

advanced countries like Ghana to adopt congestion pricing to mitigate traffic congestion? The

answer is: yes but it should be adopted in the long run. Yes, because research and practise

have shown that if current trends are not changed, these cities will be overcrowded with cars

and they will be affected the most from the negative externalities associated with congestion.

Owing to differences in economic status between and among the developed and less

developed societies, policy makers in the latter should not adopt completely the congestion

pricing mechanisms in the former. Such initiatives must be tailored to suit local conditions.

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In Accra, for instance, long term measures must be taken to streamline public transport

operations by strengthening the operational capacity of the MMT with more fleet of vehicles

that are big, comfortable and safe. Besides this, members of the Ghana Road Transport Co-

ordinating Council, which comprises the twenty three privately owned public transport

operators, must be assisted with soft loans to invest in large buses for intra-city operations by

the government. With this mechanism put in place, and followed with massive public

awareness campaigns as to the negative implications of congestion, a pilot congestion pricing

project could be initiated on selected corridors within the CBD and other heavily congested

highways in the city. As observed from the cities that were successful in this project, the

revenues that accrued from pricing were used to benefit travellers directly, by helping to pay

for innovative transit choices and faster travel options. Transparency and accountability must

guard the managers of such projects in cities of the developing countries and with time, the

public will see the tangible benefits and will come to accept the congestion pricing initiative.

It is high time our policy makers eschewed the ‘it-cannot-be-done’ syndrome.

Again, no one can rule out non-recurring traffic congestion, due for instance, to motor

accidents. However, mechanisms must be put in place to quickly identify such incidents with

for example passersby being able to phone and inform the relevant authorities. What usually

happens in Accra presently is that members of the public call into local radio stations to

inform them about such incidents who them relay such information to the police. The

relevant authorities can capitalise on that goodwill of the public to educate them on

emergency telephone numbers they could call to ensure rapid response and management so as

to mitigate traffic congestion from developing. Travellers should be informed with real time

information on roadway conditions so that they would not compound the problem.

Accra’s recurrent traffic congestion can be dealt with in the long run if the city

planners and policy makers make deliberate efforts to break the monopoly of the market

centers in the CBD by encouraging the setting up of other competitive markets in the

peripheries that could attend to the basic needs of shoppers. In the short run, however, the

concept of periodic market outside of the city core could be initiated and strengthened to

redirect the flow of traffic away from the city centre.

Lastly, state licensing authorities, especially the Drivers and Vehicle Licensing

Authority, must be stricter in their licensing policies concerning the number of private cars

that could ply the roads in order that they do not exceed the carrying or infrastructure

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capacity, which often leads to traffic congestion. This must be done in tandem with improved

public transport system.

7.3.2 “A Successful BRTS in Ghana? Of course! And why not?”

The above heading is a quote from Professor Samuel Tetteh Addo, a renowned transport

geographer with the University of Ghana when asked about the prospects of a future BRTS in

Ghana, given the several decades of the existence of the ‘trotro culture’, and the failure of the

pilot BRTS in Accra.

Quite recently, the government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Road

Transportation and its agencies, especially the Department of Urban Roads, has adopted a

new transportation policy known as the Urban Transport Project (UTP) with the financial

support of the World Bank (US$45.0 million); the Global Environmental Facility (US$ 7.0

million); the Agence Francaise de Development (US$ 27.0 million) and the government of

Ghana (US$16.0 million). The UTP’s policy direction will, among other things, see to the

introduction of a fourty-six million dollar, high capacity, scheduled BRTS.

The project has five main components. According to the UTP’s Brochure for Public

Forum (2008), the first is institutional development, which involves developing capacity (in

the areas of policy formulation, planning, regulation and management of urban passenger

transportation) of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) concerned with urban

transport as well as transport operators to provide higher standard urban passenger transport

services. The second is traffic engineering, management and safety which aim at the

introduction of an area wide traffic signal control system for Accra and Kumasi (the second

largest city) where all traffic signals will be linked to a central control centre. Other measures

will include road signs and marking, transport terminal improvement, provision of pedestrian

facilities; bus bays, pedestrian walkways, signalization of selected intersections, covering of

open drains, banning on-street parking and rehabilitation of existing bicycle routes. The third

is the proper development of a Bus Rapid Transit System which will begin with

infrastructure design and implementation, operationalization of the system and a

communications strategy, all through the provision of goods, works and technical advisory

services. The fourth component will see the integration of urban development planning and

transport planning for better environmental management by focusing on some ‘Quick Win

Projects’ drawn out of the recommendations of the 1991 (Greater Accra Metropolitan Area)

GAMA plan. Finally, proper monitoring and evaluation to collect annually traffic and

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transport data to regularly monitor the performance of the transport system in the Accra

metropolitan area and Kumasi will be done.

A Pilot BRTS Corridor from the CBD to Mallam is fully developed and will become

operational in Accra soon. Basic operational characteristics of the BRTS include: no on-

board fare collection system; closed system; entry/ exit turn stiles; magnetic smart cards and

off site ticket sales.28 It is estimated that the pilot BRTS will reduce travel time from 60

minutes to 25 minutes during the peak hour, attract 10,000 passengers during the peak hour,

increase productivity of bus service (passenger share of large buses) and lead to a reduction

in CO2 emissions along the BRT pilot corridor in Accra (Hesse, 2008).

In order to ensure a successful implementation of another BRTS in Accra, useful

lessons are to be drawn from the failure of the first pilot BRTS on the Kimbu-Adenta

highway. First of all, the decision to use the CBD-Mallam corridor is most ideal since that

corridor has recently been upgraded into multiple lanes. Again, the decision to undertake

major infrastructural works on the Obetsebi Lamptey Circle and the Railway Bridge over the

Odaw River will remove all major bottlenecks from the road network. With a solid

infrastructure, the CBD-Mallam pilot BRTS project will not suffer some of the setbacks that

were identified in the Kimbu-Adenta pilot BRTS.

Coupled with the above, the active participation of the regulatory authority i.e. the

local governments acting through the district and metropolitan assemblies must be

encouraged in order to provide the requisite legislative instruments to ensure the successful

implementation of the project. To achieve this objective, Hesse (2008) who is the UTP Team

Leader notes that institutional reforms are underway to empower the Assemblies to

modernize, plan and regulate urban passenger transport delivery. The Assembly will, among

other things, plan, register, license, and ensure protection for exclusive use of ROWs by

licensed operators. They will also facilitate contact with financial institution for appropriate

credit facilities. This is also a major step in the right direction and it is expected that with

such active involvement of the regulatory framework, the BRTS project will succeed. Closely

tied to this point is the need to adequately resource the MTTU to enforce strict compliance of

the ROWs by the licensed operators so that recalcitrant drivers will be dissuaded from

competing for space with the BRTS buses especially when the other lanes are clogged due to

traffic congestion.

28

See Appendix 6 Design of the BRTS Terminals.

101

Moreover, it is believed that in societies that have ssuccessfully implemented BRTS, ‘they

were only successful when the implementation was integrated with all the stakeholders

participating in the implementation in a sort of systemised approach. Definitely this calls for

a holistic approach’ (Mr. Visschers, MD of MMT, field interview 2008). Against this

backdrop, other identified players in the transport industry should be seen as co-partners.

Once the private transport providers see the new pilot BRTS as a threat to their survival, it is

natural to expect the same kind of unhealthy competition that led to the demise of the Kimbu-

Adenta pilot BRTS project. It is heart-warming to note that in the CBD-Mallam pilot BRTS,

members of the GRTCC are to be assisted to source for bank loans to invest in bigger, high

capacity buses to be used only for the trunk route and CBD circulations. This sense of

ownership of the project must be encouraged by all stakeholders as it holds the key to a

successful implementation of a BRTS in the city of Accra. On the other hand, other private

commercial drivers who will still opt to operate the trotros must only be permitted to operate

as on the adjoining arteries as feeders for the BRTS buses that ply the main corridor.

It is suggested that planners of the BRTS must conduct a feasibility studies to identify

the number of prospective passengers that will use the service so as to adequately prepare for

them. Such feasibility studies must also take on-board potential stops where most passengers

usually disembark so as not to create any inconveniences for the driving crew in the future

when they try to implement the policy to stop only at designated terminals.

Coupled with the above, the management team of the BRTS must also be selected on

the basis of merit to avoid putting square pegs in round holes. Again, monitoring and

effective supervision must be done to ensure that the driving crew do not steal funds or

misbehave towards passengers. As such it will be prudent to employ more field, but not arm

chair, supervisors to do systematic unannounced checks, sometimes on motor bikes so that

they are not constrained in the event of traffic congestion. Stakeholders could look into the

prospects of investing in intelligent transportation system (ITS) so that by the use of modern

technology, the operation of the transport services such as vehicles location, routing systems,

safety issues, travelling times, automation of traffic signage to give priority to advancing

BRTS buses and fuel consumption can be monitored and improved to ensure service quality

and quantity. With such enhanced system, the driving habits of drivers can also be monitored

to ensure efficiency in the system. A unit where driver misconduct can be reported must be

created and the public must be given adequate assurances that such complaints are dealt with.

102

Finally, massive publicity must be made to inform the public before the buses are put on the

road. Major radio stations that have wider coverage as well as the print media must be used to

disseminate information about the service. With education and cultural change, the new

BRTS is bound to overcome some of the bottlenecks that collapse the first one.

7.4. Areas for Further Research

Even though one could argue that the sample size of 120 trips is enough given the time and

financial constraints imposed on this study. However, in order to make conclusions that could

be made more generalisable, it is recommended that the scope of any future research work on

the theme on traffic congestion and its effects on public transport provision must be more

comprehensive. Given adequate resources, future researchers could borrow a leaf from

Quiroga and Bullock’s (1998) one year intensive segment travel time and speed records data

generation in three metropolitan areas of the United States. Rather than concentrating on just

one corridor as was done in this study, the prospects for research on several corridors –and

there are many of such congested corridors – in Accra, could be explored.

Besides the above, this study focused on only one out of the many public transport

providers in Accra. It is recommended for future researches to study the other providers and

to ask how traffic congestion has been affecting their delivery of quality service to the

travelling public. Again, research-worthy questions which answers could be sought for may

include: what are the traffic congestion coping mechanisms employed by these commercial

drivers? What are the policy implications of such coping mechanisms on public transport

provision in general?

Finally, this study gave much attention on the adverse effects of traffic congestion on

the provision of public transport services, using the former BRTS as a case study. The other

adverse effects of traffic congestion, such as air pollution, traffic accidents, etc could be the

focus of future researches.

103

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URL’s Visited

http://www.visitandlearn.co.uk http://www.meteo.gov.gh http://www.bbc.co.uk

http://www.ghanadistricts.com

http://nrsc.gov.gh

https://www.cia.gov/

http://www.mrt.gov.gh/

www.sciencedirect.com

http://metromass.com/

www.interscience.wiley.com

www.esri.com

114

APPENDIX 1 TRAFFIC CONGESTION REGISTRATION FORM

115

APPENDIX 2. INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR KEY INFORMANTS

(MANAGEMENT OF THE MMT)

Background

1.Can you please start by telling me a little bit about yourself and what you do in the Metro

Mass Transit Limited?

Operations of Bus Rapid Transit System in Accra

2. Can you describe to me the kinds/types of bus services rendered by MMTL to the travelling public?

3. Can you describe to me what a Bus Rapid Transit System is?

4. May I know when you started implementing the BRTS?

5. Can you discuss with me how the BRTS was supposed to operate?

6. May I know why the MMTL decided to offer this particular kind of service?

7. Can you show me where or which corridor(s) were selected for the BRTS?

8. What was the average number of BRTS buses that plied the selected corridor on a daily basis?

9. May I know to whom the BRTS was targeted at?

10. Would you say that the initial pilot BRTS project was a success? If so, how in terms of ...

Economic gains/profits

Social benefits

Environmental benefits etc.

11.When did the MMTL officially revert from the ‘express’ BRTS to a ‘regular’ bus service?

12. Can you describe to me how the ‘regular’ bus service operates now vis-a-vis the former BRTS?

13. Why did the Company take the decision to opt for a ‘regular’ bus service?

Congestion on the corridors of Accra

14. Can you share with me your thoughts about what traffic congestion is?

15. Concerning the former BRTS corridor(s), can you discuss with me which segments of the corridor

were the hot spots for traffic congestion?

16. Would you say that the nature or type of traffic congestion on this corridor was either recurrent

(frequently occurring), occasional or both? Explain.

17. When does this corridor usually experience traffic congestion?

18. May I know from you what you think might be the reasons for the occurrence of traffic congestion

on this particular corridor?

116

Congestion versus the operations of a BRTS in Accra

19. To what extent did traffic congestion affect the smooth operations of the former BRTS, in terms

of:

-operational costs to the Company

- service quantity

- service quality e.g. meeting time schedules, peak hour overcrowding etc.

- Others

20. Would you say that the incidence of traffic congestion on this corridor is the main primary cause

for the ‘failure’ of the BRTS?

21. Can you share with me if there are other possible factors that might have conspired to collapse the

operations of the BRTS? E.g. complaints from passengers about the attitude of the driving crew, loss

of revenue due to theft, stiff intermodal competition especially from the single operator services like

taxis, trotros etc.

Useful lessons to be learnt for future BRTS in Accra

22. Do you think the operations of a BRTS in the future can be made possible, even on the congested

streets of Accra? If yes, how?

23. How do you think the involvement of all major stakeholders, e.g. highway authorities,

representatives of single operator services, the police department (who will enforce traffic laws and

ensure safety and security of BRTS workers and customers) and indeed the general public, during the

initial planning and development of a BRTS project contribute to making it a success?

24. Do you think the packaging of the system elements, e.g. provisions of exclusive, traffic-free-bus-

only lanes and safe pedestrian access to bus stations enable the running of a BRTS? How?

25. Do you think the development of a unique image and identity, such as the use of special graphics

to convey information (e.g. where to catch a BRTS service) and opportunities for advertisement on

BRTS buses make their operations successful? How?

26. Will the introduction and adoption of Information Technology Systems (ITS) that could for

instance monitor/control bus operations; provide priority at signalised intersections; enhance safety

and security on board vehicles and at bus stations etc make future BRTS operations successful? How?

27. What do you think about the desirability of off-board fare collection for the BRTS services?

28. What are you views on how to improve upon service quality when it comes to operating a BRTS?

29. What are you views on how to improve upon service quantity when it comes to operating a

BRTS?

30. If there were other factors, such as theft of revenues; poor driver-passenger relations etc that

contributed to the ‘failure’ of the BRTS, what must operators of a future BRTS do to check some of

these things?

31. Are there other useful lessons that are worthy to note for a successful future BRTS operations in

Accra? Thank you.

117

APPENDIX 3. INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR MMT DRIVERS & PASSENGERS

Background

1.Can you please start by telling me a little bit about yourself ?

2. What you do in the Metro Mass Transit Limited? +++29

3. When did you start working with the MMT? +++

4. Since when have been using the MMT buses?

Operations of Bus Rapid Transit System in Accra

4. Can you describe to me how the Kimbu-Adenta pilot BRTS operated?

5. May I know when you started implementing the BRTS? +++

6. Was there any feasibility study done before the service begun? +++

Congestion on the corridors of Accra

7. Would you say that the Kimbu-Adenta corridor is congested? If yes, how?

8. Would you say that the nature or type of traffic congestion on this corridor was either recurrent

(frequently occurring), occasional or both? Explain.

9. When does this corridor usually experience traffic congestion?

10. May I know from you what you think might be the reasons for the occurrence of traffic congestion

on this particular corridor?

Congestion versus the operations of a BRTS in Accra

11. Would you say that traffic congestion affected the smooth operations of the former BRTS? If so,

how?

12. Would you say that the incidence of traffic congestion on this corridor is the main primary cause

for the ‘failure’ of the BRTS?

13. Can you share with me if there are other possible factors that might have conspired to collapse the

operations of the BRTS?

Useful lessons to be learnt for future BRTS in Accra

14. What are you views on how to improve upon service quality and quantity of any future BRTS?

Thank you.

29

+++

represent questions reserved for MMT drivers only

118

APPENDIX 4. INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR KEY INFORMANTS

(PUBLIC TRANSPORT POLICY MAKERS AND EXPERTS)

Operations of Bus Rapid Transit System in Accra

1. Can you describe to me the nature and purpose of the MMT?

2. Can you describe to me what a Bus Rapid Transit System is?

3. Did the MMT implement a BRTS, although on a pilot basis?

4. What was the official involvement of the state institutions in the pilot BRTS?*** 30

5. What are some of the key challenges the pilot BRTS was likely to encounter?

6. Has the state any plans of its own to operate a BRTS?***

7. Can you share with me how the BRTS of the state will be different from the MMT BRTS?***

Useful lessons to be learnt for future BRTS in Accra

7. Do you think the operations of a BRTS in the future can be made possible, even on the congested

streets of Accra?

8. If yes, which measures can be put in place to avoid the challenges that led to the collapse of the

MMT BRTS?

Thank you.

30

*** represents questions reserved for the government officials only

119

APPENDIX 5. CONGESTION SCOREBOARD on the KIMBU-ADENTA CORRIDOR

Segment ID 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Segment Length (in Metres) 1786.94 1343.05 853.85 1251.33 391.31 799.3 725.58 434.8 494.93 568.43

Posted Speed Limit (Km/h) 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50

AM Peak

Average Travel Speed (Km/h) 24.92 27.02 26.47 47.05 15.1 22.08 33.56 22.61 20.29 21.09

Median Travel Speed (Km/h) 12.66 13.43 25.62 37.54 11.74 15.99 43.53 26.09 14.85 17.05

Cumulative Travel Speed (Mins.) 8.95 15.2 17.8 20.1 22.2 26.3 28.04 29.59 31.54 33.99

Off Peak

Average Travel Speed (Km/h) 27.06 39.49 34.26 41.22 13.41 29.96 30.71 20.7 21.89 32.19

Median Travel Speed (Km/h) 21.44 40.29 25.62 37.54 11.74 23.98 21.77 26.09 22.27 34.11

Cumulative Travel Speed (Mins) 5.73 8.31 10.73 13.32 15.61 18.26 20.07 21.62 23.37 24.57

PM Peak

Average Travel Speed (Km/h) 23.15 20.45 21.29 23.56 12.82 31.77 28.66 20.82 17.73 28.28

Median Travel Speed (Km/h) 26.8 18.13 14.94 15.02 11.74 23.98 21.77 26.09 14.85 34.11

Cumulative Travel Speed (Mins) 5 9.75 13.79 18.28 20.33 22.25 24.09 26.05 28.8 30.24

Segment ID 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Segment Length (in Metres) 1094.2 1894.75 745.1 2299.2 727.64 1408.87 1137.36 899.21 540.38

Posted Speed Limit (Km/h) 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50

AM Peak

Average Travel Speed (Km/h) 34.5 30.77 26.86 31.91 16.48 26.71 20.19 22.35 15.59

Median Travel Speed (Km/h) 24.62 9.47 22.35 12.54 14.55 16.91 11.37 13.49 13.51

Cumulative Travel Speed (Mins) 37.93 49.38 52.16 63.16 68.01 73.56 80.41 84.41 87.16

Off Peak

Average Travel Speed (Km/h) 40.09 44.89 30.61 33.15 15.62 20.82 20.65 19.02 15.77

Median Travel Speed (Km/h) 32.83 37.9 22.35 27.59 14.55 14.09 17.06 17.98 16.21

Cumulative Travel Speed (Mins) 26.66 30.05 32.05 38.13 42.37 48.55 52.87 56.89 59.33

PM Peak

Average Travel Speed (Km/h) 16.9 19.9 14.05 30.89 8.68 22.02 14.55 5.08 9.87

Median Travel Speed (Km/h) 12.04 18.95 14.9 27.59 7.28 14.09 11.37 4.15 10.81

Cumulative Travel Speed (Mins) 35.59 41.59 45.54 50.89 57.14 63.63 70.48 82.33 86.28

120

APPENDIX 6. DESIGN OF THE BRTS TERMINALS.

Source: Urban Transport Project, 2008